The holidays are over. The days are short. The sun is almost nonexistent. The cloud cover is thick. No one feels much like cooking, and just about everyone feels like they have had enough treats, at least for now. So what’s for dinner? Here’s something perfect for January. It’s a tiny bit sweet, and involves almost no prep, unless you count cutting up one onion, two apples, and a cake of tofu. Most of the actual cooking is accomplished while you go do something else. It’s the ultimate comfort food, but without any grains, which is pretty unusual as comfort foods go. These kinds of recipes fall under the category of post-holiday, recovery, post-celebration, reset meals. It’s not just about going back to work. It’s also about getting back to life. 

Also, if you don’t feel like messing with the tofu, just cube it and throw it all in at the end. There’s plenty of flavor in this recipe with or without. If you happen to have some turkey sausage or vegan “not dogs” or the like in your freezer that you would like to use up, that would work, too.

1 large Vidalia onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
2+1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 pounds sauerkraut, rinsed and drained
2 tart apples (like Gala or Fuji), cored and thinly sliced
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses
2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 cake of extra-firm tofu, cubed  

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a heavy pot, add tofu cubes in a single layer, and allow to brown on medium-high heat for ~10 min. Turn cubes and repeat until all sides are seared. Remove tofu from pan and set aside.

Add an additional 1 Tbsp. olive oil to the pan. Sauté the onion over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes until the onion begins to brown. 

Stir in the sauerkraut and apple slices. Pour in wine. Cover pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until apples are disintegrating and sauerkraut is very tender.

Stir in molasses, thyme, and black pepper, with more pepper to taste. Return (add) tofu to the pot, and stir gently. Serves 4-6. Makes great leftovers and work lunches.

I found a prior version of this recipe a long time ago at epicurious.