RED VINEGAR RECIPES

Steps:

• Pour the wine into a clean, wide-mouthed half-gallon glass jar. Put the lid on and shake it well to aerate the wine. Remove lid, and add drinking water until the jar is about three-quarters full, along with the live raw vinegar or mother. Cover the jar with cheesecloth and keep the cloth in place with a rubber band.
• Leave the jar undisturbed in a dark place at room temperature for 3 to 4 weeks, checking regularly to see that a vinegar mother (a translucent, gelatinous disk) is growing on the surface, and no mold is forming. (If you see green, black or white mold, scrape it off; if it grows back, throw out the mixture and start over.) You should begin to smell vinegar after a few weeks, and can taste it every week or so to monitor the fermentation.
• After about 2 months, when the alcohol has acidified, or when a taste of the vinegar makes your mouth pucker, it's ready to strain and bottle. (You can save the mother to begin a new batch.) The vinegar can be used as is, or aged in the bottle for up to a year to mellow its flavor.

Steps:

• 1. Peel and slice the onion. Click off and discard any tatty outer leaves from the cabbage, then remove the core and chop into irregular chunks.
  2. Peel the apples, then chop into 2.5cm pieces, and pick and finely chop the parsley leaves. Finely slice the bacon.
  3. Drizzle a good lug of oil into a pan over a medium heat, add the bacon, then bash and add the fennel seeds and cook until golden.
  4. Add the onion, cover, and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until lightly golden and sticky.
  5. Scatter in the apple and cabbage, season with sea salt, black pepper and the vinegar, then stir well.
  6. Pop the lid back on, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 1 hour, or until gorgeously sticky and sweet, stirring occasionally.
  7. Scoop into a serving dish, pop the butter on top and sprinkle over the parsley, then serve.