Monday, January 16, 2012

Italian for Cabbage


I love contributor Jim Dixon's recipes because they're so simple, with no complicated acrobatics required to accomplish delicious results. And his last word says it all: Eat.

I had this my friend Marco’s restaurant, Basta's Trattoria, a few days ago; I’d forgotten how good it tastes. Maybe my love of green cabbage has been getting in the way. Marco uses bacon and caraway, so I did, too.

Braised Red Cabbage

Finely chop a slice of bacon or two, and cook in a couple of tablespoons of water until the water’s gone. Cook it a bit longer until it starts to brown, then add a chopped shallot. Cook a few more minutes, then add a head of red cabbage, chopped fairly small. Add a tablespoon or more of caraway seeds.

Pour in a generous splash (maybe half a cup) or Katz late harvest zinfandel vinegar. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for at least 45 minutes. Check a couple of times to make sure there’s a bit of liquid in the pan (add a splash of water if needed). Eat.

6 comments:

  1. Been really enjoying cabbage this season - and this sounds so easy & good. Thanks Kathleen!

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  2. Gotta love how versatile those cabbages are…from salads to braises, adaptable to everything from Italian to Asian!

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  3. I was trying to remember where I had read this recipe, and when I decided to cook cabbage tonight, I looked all over for it. Then I thought, must be at Good Stuff, and voila, here it is!
    Thanks.

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  4. Gosh, thanks, Lorraine…glad to be of assistance! I'll let Jim know, too.

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  5. Interesting how each person has a different take on how much is enough, whether vinegar, caraway, etc. Also probably depends on the strength and sweetness of the vinegar along with the size of the cabbage. Thanks for doing all that research, Peter!

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