braised cabbage and pork tenderloin medallions

the humble cabbage. i am rather enamored of cabbage. always have been. mon petit chou, the french term of endearment (translates to "my little cabbage"), has always made perfect sense to me. this love affair with the cabbage, well it seems to run in families, as my youngest has always displayed a strong predilection for cabbage slaw or cole slaw. have you ever seen a 9 month baby, or a somewhat small child ravenously grabbing at everyone's tiny side of cole slaw in a restaurant? that was probably him. he's bigger now, but we still have to order extra sides of cole slaw with our lobster rolls. this recipe works equally well with green cabbage, or a mix of the two, but the color is so appealing i usually choose red which of course is actually a deep purple. makes an interesting companion to pork, sausage, duck or goose. and the kids love it because it is sweet and sour and purple.

braised cabbage

1 lovely head of cabbage, sliced and chopped (not super thin here, a bit more rustic works best)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large apple, peeled and finely chopped

1/4 cup of apple cider

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

sautee onion in a tablespoon or two of olive oil (butter here is dreamy, but i've switched for health reasons and the taste is close enough that i won't go back). add in your cabbage and saute on high heat for a few minutes. add your cider and cider vinegar. then salt. cover and simmer on med to med-low for 40 minutes or so. add in apple, chopped quite fine or grated. correct seasoning, adding more salt and/or vinegar. i usually add a bit more salt and vinegar, the vinegar taste seems to fade a bit as time goes on. simmer another 10 minutes to incorporate the flavors. then serve.

the pork tenderloin medallions are so simple, gorgeous and take so little time, it's a wonder you don't see them more often. i buy two small pork tenderloins and slice them up. salt while on cutting board. heat up the copper skillet (best for browning meats) and sautee them for 2-3 minutes per side. lovely.

i usually serve this with a mixed green salad that includes fresh apples, leeks and shallot mustard vinaigrette, as pictured above, and rather similar to this one. add in some mixed roasted potatoes to round things out. mon petit chou.