Food Lust People Love: Savoy cabbage

Showing posts with label Savoy cabbage. Show all posts

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Roasted Savoy Cabbage Slaw with Spicy Bacon Dressing

Roasting cabbage wedges before slicing them for coleslaw brings out the sweetness in this winter vegetable, which is further enhanced by the salty, spicy, slightly creamy bacon dressing. Best of all, this coleslaw can be made a day or two ahead.

We eat a lot of salads in the summertime, especially since we moved to Dubai three years ago. With temperatures soaring it’s hard to think about turning the stove on unless it’s really, really necessary and something chilled and fresh like this Tuscan Bean Salad is the perfect dinner. As we head into Autumn, salads get heartier and we enjoy what the French called salades composées including this Sweet Potato French Bean Lentil Salad. But even during winter here, salads are a favorite. They change complexion somewhat, with the addition of couscous or bulgur wheat, making them heartier and more sustaining. Or they feature winter vegetables like cabbage and Brussels sprouts. This week our Sunday Supper group is sharing winter salad recipes, hosted by super Sue of Palatable Pastimes. Make sure you scroll on down to the bottom to see all the great dishes we have for you today.

Ingredients
For the coleslaw and dressing:
6 slices streaky bacon
Rendered bacon fat from streaky bacon

For the coleslaw:
1 head Savoy cabbage (Mine weighed 1 3/4 lbs or 800g.)
Generous handful small red radishes – About 9 or 70g – Put more if you love them.

For the dressing:
1 clove garlic
1 small purple onion – about 2 1/2 oz or 70g
1 small red chili
2 tablespoons white Balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons plain Greek-style (thick and full fat) yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon bacon fat (or use more olive oil)
1 heaping teaspoon whole grain mustard
Good pinch flakey sea salt, plus extra to taste once the coleslaw is tossed

For optional garnish – young beet sprouts

Method
Fry the bacon until crispy and drain on some paper towels. Set aside one tablespoon of the bacon fat for the dressing and save the rest for brushing on the cabbage before roasting.

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 220°C.

Cut the cabbage into six thick wedges and place them in a large baking pan. Brush the bacon fat on with a pastry brush.

Roast the cabbage wedges in your hot oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the tops are turning brown. Some of the leaves on the bottom may get very dark. If they taste burnt when they come out, discard those bits.

Mince your garlic and chili pepper and put them in a small bowl with the balsamic vinegar. You can remove the seeds of the pepper if you don’t like things too spicy, of course. I left mine in. Cut the onion in half and then slice it as thinly as you can. Add it to the vinegar bowl and stir.

When the cabbage is out of the oven, set it aside to cool. You want it to be browned on the edges, but still crunchy.

Add the yogurt and the mustard into the dressing, along with the salt, and stir well.

Chop the bacon up, reserve a good handful for sprinkling on the coleslaw and add the rest to the dressing, along with the 1 tablespoon of bacon fat you set aside earlier and the olive oil. Mix well.

Once the cabbage is cool enough to handle, cut out the hard stalk in the middle and slice the wedges up into strips.

Remove any thick ribs as you go along. You can share these with your furry helper, if he’s nearby. Vegetable lover that he is, mine is always right under foot when the cutting board comes out.

Cabbage, you say? Don't mind if I do. Cabbage is good for dogs!

Remove the ends of the radishes and slice them into pretty white circles rimmed with pink.

Pile the sliced cabbage and radishes into a large bowl with plenty of room for tossing.

Add on the salad dressing and toss well to coat.

Taste a piece or two and add a little sprinkling of salt, if necessary. This can be served immediately or stored, tightly covered in the refrigerator for a day or two.

When you are ready to serve, let the coleslaw warm up a bit, if it’s been refrigerated. Give it another good toss, plate it up then top it with the reserved bacon bits and some young beet sprouts, if desired.

Enjoy!

Are you a fan of winter salads too? Have we got a line up for you!

#SundaySupper Winter Salads

Amish Ham Salad from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
Arugula, Butternut & White Bean Salad with Maple Vinaigrette from Pook’s Pantry
Arugula Salad with Maple Vinaigrette from Cooking Chat
Beet Terrine from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Blood Orange and Salmon Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette from La Bella Vita Cucina
Blood Orange, Beet, and Apple Salad with Goat Cheese and Citrus Honey Vinaigrette from Renee's Kitchen Adventures
Blue Cheese and Pear Salad from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Breakfast Salad from Our Good Life
Brussels Sprouts Salad with White Bean Dressing and Pecan Crisps from Beauty and the Beets
Chill Chasing Matchstick Vegetable Pasta Salad from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
Chopped Salad with Roasted Root Vegetables and Bacon from MyGourmetConnection
Citrus Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Cobb Salad from Palatable Pastime
Colorful Veggie Filled Quinoa with a Ginger-Lemon Dressing from Positively Stacy
Crunchy Beet & Arugula Salad from The Crumby Cupcake
Escarole and Roasted Broccoli Salad with Anchovy Dressing from The Texan New Yorker
Farro Salad with Roasted Squash, Radicchio and Lemon-Tahini Dressing from Caroline’s Cooking
Grilled Chicken Salad from Real Food Real Deals
Hot German Hot Noodle Salad from Seduction in the Kitchen
Kale Salad with Lemony Tahini Dressing from My Life Cookbook
Lemony Couscous Lentil Salad from Magnolia Days
Low-Carb Spinach Breakfast Salad from Life Tastes Good
Mandarin Tossed Salad from Meal Planning Magic
Orange and Walnut Baby Spinach Salad w/ Quinoa and Citrus Vinaigrette from The Freshman Cook
Quinoa Salad with Apples, Pecans and Dried Cranberries from The Chef Next Door
Radicchio Pear Walnut Salad from The Bitter Side of Sweet
Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing from Cupcakes and Kale Chips
Roasted Butternut Squash Pearl Couscous Salad from Mysavoryspoon
Roasted Savoy Cabbage Slaw with Spicy Bacon Dressing from Food Lust People Love
Roasted Squash and Cabbage Salad with Crispy Chick Peas from Monica’s Table
Shredded Beet Salad from Wholistic Woman
Simple Arugula, Fennel and Leek Salad with Citrus from Simply Healthy Family
Simple Spinach Cobb Salad With Lardons from And She Cooks
Spinach Citrus Salad with Grapefruit Vinaigrette from From Gate to Plate
Warm Balsamic Steak Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing from Momma's Meals
Warm Cabbage Salad with Bacon and Goat Cheese from Nik Snacks
Warm Cauliflower Spinach Salad with Pancetta from Taste and See
Warm Potato and Broccoli Buffalo Salad from Sweet Mornings
Warm Potato Salad with Arugula, Bacon and Brown Butter from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
Warm Steak Tomato and Mozzarella Salad from Family Foodie
Wilted Lettuce Salad from Confessions of a Cooking Diva
Winter BLT Panzanella Salad from Hardly a Goddess
Winter Citrus and Endive Salad from An Appealing Plan
Winter Fruit Salad from Pies and Plots
Winter Kale and Wild Rice Salad from Moore or Less Cooking
Winter Salad with Blood Orange Vinaigrette from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Winter Salad with Fennel, Apple, Goat Cheese and Radishes from Delaware Girl Eats
Winter Squash Quinoa Salad from Kitchen Gidget

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Wild Rice Salad plus more Winter Salad Recipes #SundaySupper from Sunday Supper Movement

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Stuffed Whole Baby Savoy Cabbages

Savoy cabbage is milder tasting than its green or red counterparts and baby ones are milder still, compared to their grownups. If you are serving folks who aren’t crazy about cabbage, but do like greens, give Savoy cabbage a try. The baby ones are also adorable.

Our elder daughter is dating a delightful young man that is not only a talented type designer but, bonus, he cooks and bakes beautifully. Every weekday he creates lunch for his office mates as part of his contribution to the team. It’s a brilliant arrangement, by which, as I understand it, he gets a discount on his share of the office rent and everyone gets a healthy, freshly prepared, delicious meal every day. So smart, these young people! I’ve been wanting to try one of his specialties (from an original recipe by Jacques Pépin) a whole stuffed cabbage that is cooked then cut into wedges for serving. But when I came across baby Savoy cabbages in my local grocery store and I couldn’t resist them. Some day I'll make the big guy.

The week’s Sunday Supper theme is Stuffed, Rolled and Wrapped so the individual stuffed cabbages are perfect! They may seem a little fiddly to make but I assure you that the baby Savoys are fairly hearty little cabbages and you can stuff your filling in with confidence. The stuffing and the simple tomato sauce they cook in is what my mother made whenever she made cabbage rolls as I was growing up.

Ingredients
4 small Savoy cabbages – about 2+ oz or 55-60g each

For the filling:
12 oz or 340g ground beef
4 oz or 115g ground pork
1 medium onion (about 2 1/2 oz or 70g
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup or 45g raw rice
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 can ( oz or 400g) whole tomatoes – buy the best quality you can afford. I like the Italian ones for best flavor.
2 cloves garlic
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme plus extra for garnish, if desired

Method
Mince your onion very finely and then mix it together thoroughly with the rest of the filling ingredients.

Divide your filling into reasonably equal portions.

Gently open your little cabbages and start filling from the middle, closing up the leaves over the filling until you have used all the filling allotted to that baby cabbage. Repeat until all four are filled.

Separate all the leaves and start stuffing in the middle.

When the area is full, close the leaves around the filling.

Keep adding stuffing and closing the leaves.

When you get to the outer leaves, put some stuffing on them and squeeze them up against the inside.

Finally, put the last of the stuffing right in the top and close up.

So cute, right?!

Cut four pieces of foil and wrap them around the cabbages so that they hold their shape, leaving a hole at the top of the foil.

Puree your canned tomatoes with a hand or regular blender, along with the garlic, salt and sugar. Use the tomato can as a measuring device and add a full can of water to the mixture and stir to combine.

Put the four stuffed cabbages in a pan that has a tight fitting lid, hole side down and pour the tomato garlic sauce in the pan with the foil-wrapped cabbages.

Bring the sauce to a boil and then put your lid on the pan and simmer for about an hour or until the internal temperature of the stuffed cabbages reaches 160°F or 71°C. (While the “safely cooked” temperatures have been reduced for cuts of pork, they haven’t changed for ground meats.)

Meanwhile, pull the leaves off of your fresh thyme sprigs and mince them.

When the cabbages are cooked, remove them from the pan, unwrap your little foil bundles and arrange them on your serving dish.