How interesting is your cabbage?
This morning I was reading the Good Weekend lift out from the Sydney Morning Herald. In the article about cooking with cabbage I found this quote:
Um, “really soft and interesting”? I can tell when the cabbage becomes soft but can somebody please teach me the rules of identifying the moment when it evolves from being plain boring to interesting. Does it blush, sweat, wink, make noises or dance in the oven? What makes your cabbage interesting?
To me this vegetable has always been fascinating. I have to confess that for a long time I believed that babies were found in the cabbage patch. Then one day when I was about seven or eight years old my older cousin pulled me in the bathroom and shed the light on the true origins of human kind. I still think the cabbage and ibis stories are way more fun.
Then throughout my childhood and puberty I was persuaded to eat lots of cabbage by my cunning mother who assured me that it would make my breasts grow bigger. Despite the disappointment years later my love for cabbage remained. Perhaps because it is one of signature ingredients in Ukrainian cuisine. I have discovered many new ways to cook and eat cabbage since moving to OZ and travelling around the world.
Here is what I think makes an interesting cabbage:
Borscht (Russian/Ukrainian beetroot soup)
Dumplings with sautéed cabbage
German sauerkraut
Korean kimchi
Stuffed cabbage rolls (Greek or Ukrainian style with rice and meat)
Red cabbage coleslaw
Braised cabbage with smoked pork ribs
Salad Dnestr (shredded raw cabbage, green peas, bacon, dill and mayo dressing)
and of course an array of dishes with other vegetables from the cabbage family
At some stage I will put up the recipes for some of these dishes. You can find many of them on the web. Please note that Borscht is not traditionally pureed unlike many recipes I have seen online suggest.
Do you know an interesting cabbage? Please, introduce.
Gosh I remember a family road trip up to the Gold Coast when I was about ten. I can’t remember the exact details but mum must have bought a cabbage to cook for meals as we were staying in caravan parks and little rented cabins along the way.
One night after a lot of meals with cabbage, I had the most intense pains in my stomach. I thought I was dying and told my mother I thought I must have appendicitis! Sadly, she just laughed at me and said it was probably a whole lot of gas from the cabbage.
I’ve never really eaten in much since then
I remember those dumplings. Have you ever delved into the world of ‘bubble and squeak’?
Cabbage made fantasy.
The problem with a cabbage dish is that it’s not the cabbage that makes it taste any good — the cabbage is just there because you couldn’t find anything else.
Cameron, it is this attitude to cabbage that is leaving it a bruised competitor in the vegetable world.
I have a feeling that it is also the thing Irena wants to change.
Given centre stage the cabbage can hold its own.
OK, so we all have pretty strong opinions about cabbage. That in itself makes it interesting. The way I see it there are some foods that are very good at giving flavour such as garlic,onion, butter, chillies. Then there are those foods that are better at taking the flavour, that’s your couscous, rice, potatoes, cabbage, pasta etc. You wouldn’t really eat the foods from either group individually as they would either be bland or overpowering to taste. It’s the art of combining them together that produces what takes the ‘center stage’. So, let’s give cabbage some slack.
And although there is a belief that the cabbage causes flatulence (in large doses I assume), it is also known to be used to treat acute inflammation and it’s full of fiber and vitamin C. Oh, and I remember my mum used to wrap her head with cabbage leaves to reduce headaches/migraines. It was pretty funny.
I love cabbage too! I like to saute it. I think when it gets really soft, it becomes less, interesting, but perhaps that is just me. I enjoy it in all of the dishes you mention.
Oh! And Welcome to The Foodie Blogroll!
Just dropped in via the Foodie Blogroll. So glad I did.
Just a tidbit of trivia I would like to add. The month of February was once called Cabbage Month by the Anglo-Saxons. Soup made from the vegetable (and its relatives) were an important dish of the farmer’s menu since cabbage was the first vegetable to sprout in February.
Simply shredded cabbage, garlic and oil does it for me. I especially enjoyed your dill post. I can just imagine Holly Go-Lightly delicately holding a sprig of dill singing Moon River…
Hello ,
Welcome to the foodi blogroll!
i have an interesting cabbage recipe that i posted on my blog, here is the link for you to check out, but make sure to watch the video too for instructions:
http://mimicooks.com/2007/12/stuffed-cabbage-malfouf.html
Enjoy and welcome again.
AHHHH …. My Austrian husband absolutely loves cabbage and would eat it every day of the week. I unfortunately do not share this love affair!
One of his very favorite is a cabbage soup with water, onions, caraway seeds, a bit of bacon and white wine, S&P to taste.
He eats this like crazy, but I prefer something more hearty!
Denise
http://www.WineFoodPairing.blogspot.com
I’ve always quite fancied lazy cabbage. which reminds me, Irena - have you read that book yet? I need to get that recipe back!