Krautpfanne (German Cabbage and Sausage Skillet)

Method

1. 1Quarter the cabbage, cut out the hard core and slice the quarters into ribbons about 1.5 cm wide. Anything thinner falls apart by the time the sausage comes back to the pan. Halve and slice the onions, mince the garlic clove, cut the sausage into rounds roughly 1 cm thick.
2. 2Melt 1 tablespoon of the lard in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Thirty centimetres is the minimum here, because cabbage needs pan floor, not pan walls. Lay the sausage rounds flat and leave them alone for 2 to 3 minutes a side. You are after dark edges and a film of rendered fat on the bottom of the pan; that fat is what carries the smoke into everything that follows. Lift the sausage onto a plate.
3. 3Turn the heat down to medium, add the rest of the lard and the onions and cook them 4 to 5 minutes, until soft and coloured at the edges. Stir in the garlic, caraway and marjoram for half a minute. Caraway needs hot fat to open up, and German cooks put it in cabbage as much for the digestion as for the flavour.
4. 4Pile in the cabbage. It will stand above the rim and look like far too much; it drops to half the volume within ten minutes. Season with salt, pepper and sweet paprika, turn it over a few times with tongs, then cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then. If the pan goes dry before the cabbage softens, add two tablespoons of water and no more.
5. 5Take the lid off and put the heat back up to medium-high. Cook uncovered for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring about once a minute, until the liquid has gone and some of the strands are brown at the tips. This is the step people leave out, and it is the whole difference between a Krautpfanne and a pan of boiled cabbage.
6. 6Return the sausage along with any juices on the plate, pour in the vinegar and toss for 2 minutes so everything heats through and the acid gets into the cabbage. Taste it — cabbage takes more salt than you expect. Serve straight from the pan with dark rye bread and a spoonful of medium-hot mustard.