The New York Times had an interesting article recently about cabbage: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/dining/12vege.html?ref=dining - My wife and I got excited, as we've resolved to eat more seasonally, and have already been exploring greens like kale and cabbage. I'd recently made a couple of nice cabbage soups from Epicurious, and so I happily plunged into the featured recipe, Bess Feigenbaum's Cabbage Soup.
I'm still interested in charging onwards, however, and doing more cabbage from the Times and elsewhere. Anyone want to join me in cooking things cabbagy and wintry? I've currently got an oxtail stew cooking away in the oven (I'm doing it a day in advance to let the flavours combine) with a recipe from Jennifer McLagan's 'Bones' and the wonderful smell is banishing the sense of failure that was lingering in the kitchen after dinner (I actually feel a bit depressed after a recipe turns out to be a dud).
I have a great (IMHO) recipe for a French cabbage soup from one of those Best American Recipes anthologies -- I will track it down if you like and post here -- it may even be available online. I love the idea of wintry cooking -- it is below zero here today -- this old house is freezing and cooking is a perfect warm-me-up now and warm-us-up later.
I have cooked Mark Bittman's Cabbage-and-Something Soup several times this winter already. It's a really adaptable and tasty cabbage soup (I like mine with potato). It's in the revised How to Cook Everything.
I just printed the Andean stew with butternut squash and quinoa as I have a buttternut squash on my counter and my first bag of quinoa looking for a recipe - Thanks
Any suggestions for Brussel sprout recipe? Usually I do a simple oven roast - that is the only way I've found that I like them - but I'd love to branch out.
LL -- a little late to the party but Joy of Cooking has a couple of good sprouts recipes.
Andrew -- finally found the cabbage soup recipe from Best American Recipes 2004-2005. It was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle and I tried to find the link -- no luck but I found this article on French country soups by the same author. There are a couple things here I'll be trying.
In 2 T. butter or EVOO, cook 2 stalks chopped celery (with leaves), 1 chopped onion, 4 chopped garlic cloves, and one chopped carrot -- and a bit of kosher salt. Cook until soft but not browned. Add 1/2 small cabbage (cored and thinly sliced), 2 bay leaves, and 1 T. fresh thyme leaves and maybe a bit more kosher salt. Cook over medium heat until cabbage is softened. Add one cup of a dry white wine and increase heat to high and simmer rapidly until almost all the liquid has evaporated (@ 10 min.), then add 5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and cook over medium-high heat until the cabbage is tender. Add 2-3 medium-size red potatoes cut in bite size pieces. Add 2 oz. diced prosciutto. Cook about 10 more minutes, then discard bay leaves and season to taste. The recipe calls for freshly grated Romano but the recipe intro says that in SW France blue cheese is used and that's what I used and we really enjoyed it.
It was pretty good, though not as nice as some of the cabbage soups I've had lately. I found the cabbage a little sour, though I don't know if it's the type of cabbage I used (savoy) or the preparation, or a little bit of my own personal tastes. My wife liked it, and we did finish it off, not like the disastrous tomato cabbage soup...
Tonight I tried a great sandwich that includes cabbage, beets, and carrots, review here: http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/13719/the-sandwich-for-bleucheese-fans I was surprised at how sweet that raw beet was, and had to make more of everything to satisfy everyone. No controversy here - a unanimous 5.
A nice cabbage and leek and bacon tart in the latest compilation issue, "Breakfast", of Fine Cooking. It's easily halved and I found it a tasty way to use up a half cabbage left over from making another recipe (probably that abysmal soup). FC subscribers can also find the recipe in issue # 41 but it is not available online.