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Locally Carei: Giving cabbage its due

By Joe Carei for The 4 min read
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Cabbage has always gotten on a lesser stage as a comfort food.

“It’s the smell,” says my wife, Stacy. “It’s just the smell.”

Yet as famed cookbook author James Beard wrote, “Lowly though it may seem, cabbage has no rival in versatility except the potato . . . it can be eaten raw or cooked in almost any manner-boiled, steamed, braised, sauteed, baked; and a list of recipes calling for cabbage would fill a book.”

Growing up, I can remember eating cabbage more often than not. We usually had it on Sundays when we went to visit my grandparents on the Irish side. There wasn’t much versatility to it, usually boiled. But over the years I found out, yes, it is versatile.

There are several types of cabbage from which to choose. Green cabbage is the most common. It is usually inexpensive and never hard to find. The color can be bright green to white. The whiter, the older and tougher it will be. But, the taste is not really affected. Usually it is bright green in summer and whiter as winter rolls along.

Red cabbage is usually an easy find, also. It is smaller and I would recommend adding a touch of acid like vinegar, lemon juice or fruit such as apples during the cooking process. This will help it keep the bright red/purple color as opposed to an unattractive grey.

You may run into a Savoy cabbage at the grocery store. Savoy cabbage is a little more attractive with its curly leaves,and because of its late growing season, will be a brighter green over the winter. Savoy is used like green and red cabbage.

Chinese cabbage falls into two categories. The true Chinese cabbage is also known as Napa Cabbage. Napa cabbage can be used in any and all cabbage recipes. The head is shaped like romaine lettuce with the frilly ends like a savoy cabbage.

The Chinese cabbage will add a little peppery taste to your dish. The other is bok choy. I would not recommend bok choy as a substitute in your standard cabbage recipes, price being top reason. Save bok choy for your stir-fry and Asian soups.

While red and green cabbage can have a long shelf life of up to 6 weeks, savoy and Chinese is significantly less. When shopping, the brighter the leaves and more compact the head makes for a better cabbage. Avoid buying already cut or shredded cabbage. It makes for a shorter shelf life and some vitamins are lost through oxidation. Always try to buy a head, where you will use it all in the recipe.

Here is a list of recipes, almost guaranteed to not smell.

Cabbage casserole

2 slices bacon

1 small head cabbage

1-2 tart apples

1 small onion diced

1 tablespoon butter

salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

10 Ritz crackers, crumbed

Cook bacon and remove from pan. Reserve the grease and add butter. Add onions and cabbage and cook until onions are translucent. About 5 minutes. Add apples and salt and pepper. Cook until cabbage is tender. Add bacon and brown sugar. Place in casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Top with cracker crumbs with 10 minutes to go.

Kluski (hluski or Halushki)

1 medium head of cabbage

12 ounces noodles

1 onion

1 stick butter (more if desired)

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and fresh pepper

Cook off noodles and set aside. Dice onion and core and coarsely chop cabbage. Sweat onions in ½ of the butter until translucent and then add cabbage, salt and pepper, garlic and the rest of butter. Cook cabbage until soft (I like to caramelize (brown) it just a little) Toss in the noodles and let rest a bit to marry. The only secret to better kluski is more butter.

Vinegar slaw

Small head of cabbage shredded thin

2 cups cider vinegar

3 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons mustard

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Heat up vinegar and add rest of ingredients until incorporated.

Pour over shredded cabbage. Let sit overnight stirring occasionally.

Great for fish tacos.

Rumbledethump

2 pounds mashed potatoes

½ cup butter

Small head cabbage shredded

1 clove garlic minced

Salt and pepper

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook cabbage in butter until soft with garlic. Fold into potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Pour into greased casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake covered at 350 degrees for ½ hour. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and top is a little crispy.

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