PrintWhat do you do with a head of cabbage?
Cabbage tries hard to please---it's cheap, good nutrient profile, stores well & can be prepared sweet, tart, plain or creamed. Recipes using this often friendless vegetable include: slaws, salads, stir-frys, stuffed, soup & sauerkraut. Interesting tip to reduce cabbage cooking oder: add an English walnut, shell & all, to the cooking liquid. Do you eat the lowly cabbage & its family members? Recipes?
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25 Comments:
Spit a head into quarters (leave the root intact), drizzle on olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill over medium heat until the leaves begin to separate from each other and the pieces begin to take on a bit of char.
My other favorite way is to sauté shreds of cabbage with a lot of butter, apples, salt, pepper, and cider vinegar until nicely wilted and just beginning to take on some color.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 4:22PM on 09/24/07
I was first introduced to cabbage along with corned beef-- and it's still probably my favorite cabbage dish. A close second, however, is cabbage in fish tacos. Just sauté some tilapia or other white fish with a little salt, pepper, olive oil and lime juice and serve it on a fresh, warm tortilla with a little bit of chipotle ranch and top it with thinly sliced green cabbage. Yummy.
stonehengegirl at 4:22PM on 09/24/07
Yesterday for my uncle's 80th birthday, and at his request, we made about 50 gallons of sauerkraut before square-dancing! Pics and such are here.
LunaPierCook at 4:34PM on 09/24/07
LPC--thanks for linking your article!
Dominic & stonehengegirl---recipes sound good! My favorite cabbage is the red variety with roasted brussels sprouts coming in second place.
JEP at 4:44PM on 09/24/07
cole slaw & sauerkraut St Pat's day corn beef & cabbage has become corn beef & brussels sprouts here
NanaJoie at 5:15PM on 09/24/07
boiled cabbage with fat back is my favorite way. I do love stuffed cabbage as well.
malenky at 5:23PM on 09/24/07
Saute four slices bacon (or more!). Set aside. Saute chopped cabbage in a couple tablespoons of the bacon fat, until separated and wilted but still with a bit of crunch. Crumble in bacon, salt and pepper, and add a generous splash of cider vinegar and a little Cajun Chef if you care for it.
Tellicherry at 5:56PM on 09/24/07
Brown good pork chops seasoned with salt and pepper in olive oil and butter, both sides, high heat. Remove from skillet - set aside.
Add shredded cabbage to same pan. Cook slowly over low heat in drippings - do not brown, merely melt it a bit. Add some minced garlic and continue to cook for a minute or so.
Pour heavy cream over the cabbage/garlic and cook down till thickened, deglazing pan with cream.
Put cabbage mix in ovenproof dish, top with pork chops and bake for fifteen to twenty-five minutes depending on size or thickness of chop. Five minutes before finish, top chops with grated Gruyere and bake till melted.
White wine, cold and dry, to drink with it. Egg noodles tossed with butter and parsley if you like.
But the best part is that cabbage with the unguent garlic scent filling it, porky drippings tossed through it.
Abandon yourself to the pleasure.
Of cabbage.
Karen Resta at 6:20PM on 09/24/07
i love cabbage.
red cabbage sauteed in butter with onions apples and caraway seeds
or cabbage sauteed with carrots and sundried tomatos over angel hair pasta
or even plain steamed cabbage with butter, salt and pepper
avryan at 7:05PM on 09/24/07
Okay, this method can be used with any baby-variety vegetable but I love it with cabbage, red or green.
Cut the cabbage into quarters, cut out the root and then chop the cabbage until it shreds. You don't have to cut it too fine, just chop it up.
Throw it in a large skillet with a half cup water, quarter cup melted butter and quarter cup honey. Add a small bag of baby or matchstick carrots. Heat on high until the water boils then cover, turn down to medium and let cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, uncover and crank the heat back up. Cook until the water evaporates, the cabbage takes on color and the honey and butter form a glaze.
Add another teaspoon of butter, salt and pepper to taste and serve.
You can also substitute a half cup good balsamic vinegar for the honey and melted butter. It is also DELISH with Brussels sprouts. Experiment with your favorite vegetables and tell me what you think.
Tommy
dukeofpornia at 8:46PM on 09/24/07
Polish golabki! Mix up some ground beef and pork with onions and lots of rice. Roll it up in steamed cabbage leaves, line the golabki in a roasting pan, and cover with a smooth tomato sauce. Bake 'em for an hour or two (depending on their size and quantity). Good stuff.
Kerosena at 10:00PM on 09/24/07
My favorite thing to do with cabbage, by a wide margin, is braised red cabbage. You should be able to find a million recipes, some calling for apples, or caraway seed. Personally I feel the apples get soggy, and I despise caraway. My method is relatively minimalist:
Quarter and core a medium head of red cabbage, and cut into 3/8 inch strips. Sprinkle this with salt and red wine vinegar, and let it sit for a few minutes. Cut a medium onion into strips, and sweat in some fat. Duck or goose fat is best, but I usually use chicken fat, with good results, since it's more available to me. You could use butter, but I wouldn't use olive oil or a neutral vegetable oil, since the fat is a major flavor component. Add a couple bay leaves, about 1/2 c red wine, and the cabbage. I also like to add a small amount of fresh ground allspice (2 berries), cloves (just 1), and black pepper (to taste) here. Cover and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes, until cabbage is tender. Towards the end you can remove the cover to help reduce the liquid a bit.
Nicholas H at 10:58PM on 09/24/07
LOVE cabbage. My two favorite, extremely unhealthy things to do with it:
1. Chop up some delicious bacon, cook in a pan until the fat renders and the bacon is golden and lightly crisp. Throw in large quantity of slivered green cabbage, and some slivered onion. Let it all cook down until the cabbage is well wilted and the onion is beginning to color. Add in some heavy cream, and let it all simmer away until most of the liquid is evaporated and what remains has a toasty color. Remove the pan from heat, sprinkle in a small amount of extremely good balsamic vinegar. Spoon over a freshly baked potato or eat as a side dish to fish (grilled salmon or cod) or chicken.
2. Slice a head of green cabbage as thin as you can manage. Salt, rinse, and drain it (sprinkle with kosher salt, let it sit a good hour or two, rinse under running water to remove the salt, and squeeze dry in paper towels or tea towels). While the cabbage is salting, cook a couple hefty pinches of curry powder in butter or peanut oil until it starts to smell toasty. Stir contents of pan into big splodge of mayo (Hellman's is fine) or (preferred) big splodge of mayo mixed with splodge of Greek yogurt. Stir this mixture into the rinsed-and-dried cabbage. Stir in one package frozen green peas, thawed, and a couple large handfuls of salted, dry-roasted peanuts. Eat ASAP, as the peanuts will get soggy; alternatively, stir in peanuts just before serving. I also like this very much with grated carrots subbing for as much as half the cabbage. Topping with chopped cilantro and/or thin-sliced scallions is also delicious. FWIW, I have become a huge peanut snob: I go with either the Peanut Shop of Williamsburg (they sell on Amazon) or HayDay Peanuts, which is the house brand of the company that now owns Balducci's. Planter's is NOT recommended.
maggiesara at 2:36AM on 09/25/07
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes cabbage :)
I eat more red than the green or savory, but the cabbage family also includes kale & bok choy---do you cook & eat these,too?
JEP at 6:40AM on 09/25/07
i actually cooked red cabbage last night -
melt half a stick of butter in large sauce pan. slice head of cabbage very very thinly. throw in the pan with some salt. saute until slightly wilted (about 7-8 minutes). add 3 tbsp red wine and toss to coat. saute until most of the liquid has evaporated (about 10 minutes). add 1 tbsp either apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar and 1-2 tsp sugar. saute until as wilted as you like. season with s&p and you're done.
ceforrester at 8:50AM on 09/25/07
make potstickers
dksbook at 10:09AM on 09/25/07
I cut out the center of red cabbage and use it as a large bowl to serve dip in at a party.
Lavendergirl at 3:09PM on 09/25/07
Cabbage rolls, and coleslaw, mainly. I'm not big on sauerkraut.
kcorder3 at 3:53PM on 09/25/07
Breakfast: Saute with salt and pepper and mix with scrambled eggs.
Salad: Thinly slice, mix with avocado, minced garlic and olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper for a simple salad.
Dinner: Nuke the whole head in microwave for 5 min, carefully peel off whole leaves and wrap seasoned ground pork/beef mixed with sauteed carrots, shitake, onions for a Japanese style cabbage roll, stewed in soy/dashi broth.
kuishinbo at 6:26PM on 09/25/07
I never thought of cabbage for breakfast---good idea!
JEP at 6:37PM on 09/25/07
I cooked Cabbage Curry with red potatoes last night.
For an Indian style Cabbabe curry, chop up the cabbage fine,. Saute some onion & chopped up ginger. Add two fresh red tomatoes , wait till the juice gets thick, add a teaspoon of tulmeric powder, & two table spoon of cumin & corriander power mix, add four small red potato sliced, two tea spoon of fresh cilantro, salt to taste. Cover the pan, let it cook in slow heat. Serve it with rice on Naan.
Mira
mira at 8:33PM on 09/25/07
japanese pancakes/okonomiyaki! they're very simple, though they do require a few ingredients that you may not have lying around your kitchen at all times.
here is a link to a recipe (which i'll admit i haven't tried):
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/holidaytraditionalfood/r/okonomiyaki.htm
alternately, you can sort improvise. make a fairly thin batter with about 2-4 eggs, some water and/or milk, flour, and salt. mix in shredded cabbage and any other veggies you might want - carrots, onions, etc. are all good. sometimes seafood or meat is added, though i've had vegetarian ones that were perfectly delicious. fry them in vegetable oil until they're nice and crispy outside and no longer wet inside, then top them with a mixture of mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce (which you can find in the asian sections of some grocery stores), with bonito flakes and dried seaweed crumbled over everything.
emmab at 9:39AM on 09/26/07
just found one more recipe, which may have more suitable proportions for the batter...
http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.com/2006/08/japanese-savoury-pancake.html
emmab at 9:42AM on 09/26/07
wow, so many cabbage lovers...wish I could share the love. What would I do with a head of cabbage...avoid it or use it as food decor, but only as a last resort.
Pawsinhand at 11:02AM on 09/26/07
Wow. . . and to think I almost didn't look at this question. Can't wait to try some the recipes above!
Stephanie at 9:16PM on 09/26/07