Cabbage through the years

I never ate cooked cabbage when I was a kid.  Well, there was that one time when my mother presented us with a plate of knackwurst that had been cooked in sauerkraut.  That pretty much put me off of cooked cabbage and snappy-skinned German sausage until well into my adulthood.

My husband’s German background reintroduced me to cooked cabbage in the form of Rotkraut; a sort of sweet and sour red cabbage dish.  I didn’t like that, either.  Still don’t (though I’ve since had a knackwurst-style sausage, sans sauerkraut, that I did enjoy).

Cabbage is delicious

I like cabbage, don’t get me wrong.  I love slaw, often with a tangy vinegar-based dressing (though this miso one has opened my eyes to creamy slaw that isn’t horribly sweet).  Cabbage is a nutritional powerhouse.  But coming around to enjoy cooked cabbage has been more of a self-guided journey.  I do credit Jamie Oliver to a certain extent.  His recipe for green veggies with flavoured butter inspired me to try cooking cabbage myself.

Springboarding off of that dish, I created this one.  The cabbage is allowed to brown a little in the butter, giving it a nutty taste.  Honey and feta balance the flavours nicely.  The whole thing comes together in minutes. It’s a brilliant side dish, but would work equally well with some roasted root veggies and some hearty bread or grain pilaf as a vegetarian dinner.

Cabbage and Kale with Honey and Feta

This is another “no recipe” recipe.  More of a method, really.

Butter
Cabbage (any kind you like, or a mix), chopped in bite size pieces
Clove of garlic, minced
Kale, chopped
Honey
Feta, crumbled
Salt and pepper
Heat a knob of butter (be a little generous) in a skillet over medium heat. Let it get foamy. Add the cabbage and a little salt. Toss the cabbage in the butter, letting it brown a little, without wilting too much. You still want some crunch. Add the garlic and sautee until fragrant. Turn off the heat and add the kale and honey (a tablespoon or so for four servings). Add a generous grind of coarse black pepper, and when the kale is wilted, serve, topped with crumbled feta.

***Editing – I’ve come back a year later to add that if you want more of a sweet/sour tang, a nice balsamic can be used in conjunction with or in place of the honey if you prefer.

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