The Cross and the Cleaver: And Cabbage, cabbage, cabbage!
By Rev. Piotr
You have seen already several recipes for sauerkraut (which British call sour cabbage) and red cabbage Christmas recipe. So if you are sick and tired of cabbage, sour or otherwise, feel free to skip this article. If you are not … venture with me into the world of the opportunities provided to us by one of the most, in my opinion, versatile vegetables. Red cabbage, white/sweet cabbage, savoy cabbage, napa/Chinese cabbage. Let’s forget the first variety for today. All the other varieties you can eat fresh, marinated in coleslaw dressings, pickled, boiled, fried, braised, and sauteed. While not everyone’s favourite, I love it, absolutely love it.
Relatively easy to grow, cabbage has circumnavigated the globe both geographically and historically. We know the Greeks and Egyptians ate it. Ancient Romans considered it a luxury on their tables. Its popularity in the Middle Ages guaranteed it a place in numerous illustrated manuscripts. Contemporary cuisine treats it both as peasant food, and as a possibility for some haute cuisine showing off (as n fancy cooking I wrote about two weeks ago). I much prefer the former.
I grew up on cabbage. Though there were bogracs, or cabbage rolls on dinner menu, I remember sauerkraut featured most vividly in my diet. One of my fondest recollections of my childhood, in the summer, was finding a coin on a sidewalk (or begging one off my parents or selling bottles or recycle paper or whatever). Then there was running with it to the local fruit and vegetable stall (which featured a real-life, dug out, root cellar), and asking if I can have as much sauerkraut as this coin can afford. It was cold, aromatic, crunchy, and with a zing. The brown paper bag it was sold in, never had a chance to get soggy from all the juices, as the content was devoured long before. Though I will admit to frequently attempting to suck all the flavour I could, out of that wet paper in the heat of summer.
All right … cabbage it is … simple … easy and delicious:
Take a 2lb head of cabbage and shred it either into strands or squares. If you are using a slicing mandolin, make sure you are utilising the guard provided!!! Nobody wants to eat your fingertips … trust me.
Toss with a generous pinch of salt, generous pinch of pepper, and less generous pinches of sugar. Set aside.
Cut 1lb of bacon (any flavour but maple) into chunks the size of your liking and fry in the non-stick pan until crispy. Remove crispy bits leaving the fat in the pan. Keep the heat at mid-high.
Throw a medium sized, chopped, onion into the hot bacon fat and sauté until translucent and about to start turning golden brown.
Add the prepared cabbage, stir, and sauté for 10-15 minutes. You can choose to cover it, to keep the moisture in.
Once tender to your liking, transfer to the serving bowl and top up with prepared back. You can mix it if you like.
Ready!!! Serve with bread of your choosing (except cinnamon and raisins, just don’t).
Want to make more of it? Easy-peasy …. Just mix the above preparation with 2lb boiled potatoes and you have an Irish colcannon. And if you make that cabbage-potato mixture into a flat pancake and fry it, you end up with an English bubble and squeak (don’t forget HP Sauce for seasoning!!!). Didn’t I mention cabbage’s versatility?
One more recipe. Please indulge me, for it is my favourite …
Small head of cabbage, chopped to your liking. Put into a med-sized pot at med-heat. Intention of a smaller pot is to limit the evaporating surface. Add generous knob of butter, and equal amount of water. Stir. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, sugar, and third of a pinch of caraway. Once butter-water emulsion comes to boil turn the heat down enough to have three bubbles on the side of the pot, but no more. Simmer for approx. an hour checking every 15 minutes. If mixture seems dry add equal amounts of butter and water. When cabbage is soft but still crunchy … EAT IT!!! …. Like with bread or potatoes or pork chops or bread …. or just eat.