Tag: Red Cabbage

RED CABBAGE- CAVOLO ROSSO- with black olives, garlic, red vinegar and anchovies

Red cabbage, sautéed or braised with apple, red wine vinegar, juniper berries, caraway seeds and cloves is the most common  way  I cook it in my kitchen. Sometimes I add walnuts and at other times some raw bacon – all delicious, but same old, same as.

Shredded red cabbage is also good uncooked in a salad, especially with strong flavours – black olives, garlic, red wine vinegar and anchovies – and these ingredients can be used in both a salad and a cooked version of red cabbage.

IMG_2233

Ingredients

Red cabbage sliced thinly, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, bay leaves, lemon and pitted black olives and anchovies to taste ( I like both anchovies and black olives and add generous amounts of both).

Red Cabbage as a salad with black olives, garlic, red vinegar and anchovies
Make this salad about 2 hours before serving.

Place the shredded or finely cut red cabbage into a bowl that has a lid.
Mix chopped garlic with chopped anchovies,  plenty of extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, a little salt (olives and anchovies will be salty), bay leaves and red wine vinegar.
Add this to the cabbage and mix well. Leave it to marinate so flavours can infuse.
Drain the red cabbage if there are excessive juices. Taste it and add a little more oil and a little lemon juice if it needs it. Add black olives and grated lemon peel and serve.

If you would like a bit of green, slice some spring onions and sprinkle on top.

IMG_2235

Sautéed cabbage with black olives, garlic, red vinegar and anchovies

Unlike in certain recipes where it is often suggested to cook red cabbage for about an hour or more, I never cook it for longer than 15-20 minutes,

This recipe benefits from the addition of lemon juice at the end

In a heavy based saucepan heat a few tablespoons of oil, add the chopped garlic with chopped anchovies- the anchovies will dissolve in the heat.
Add the cabbage, salt and pepper and sauté for a few minutes to soften the cabbage.
Add the vinegar, bay leaves and black olives and stir through.
Cover and cook on low heat until it is softened and cooked to your liking. If it is too dry add a little water or red wine while it is cooking.

When it is cooked add the juice of one lemon, mix and serve.

Although these recipes have southern Italian flavours, red cabbage can be difficult to find in southern Italy and is far more common in the north.

Below is one of Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings of petunias – these vibrant colours are almost identical  of the colours of red cabbage.

 

IMG_2146

 

THOSE OTHER BRASSICAS (Cabbages and Brussel Sprouts and how to cook them)

I love all brassicas (brassicaceae or mustard family), not just the Italian cime di rape,  the coloured (green, purple, pink) and cream cauliflowers, broccoli, cavolo nero, kale, kohlrabi,  cabbages Brussels sprouts and all of those Asian mustard greens .

Purple cauli pile_0076 crop

If we are talking about favourite Sicilian brassicas, there are the cime di rape, coloured cauliflowers, the green and purple coloured kohlrabi and broccoli.

kohlrabi purple pattern_0104

Italians seem to buy local produce and you are unlikely not find brussel sprouts, savoy cabbages, cavolo nero or red cabbage  in Sicily – these are grown in north of Italy. In the north of Italy you are less likely to find cime di rape or kohlrabi or the purple cauliflowers.

In Sicily the white cabbage (cavolo cappuccio), available in winter, is often used uncooked as a salad green and simply dressed with a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and pepper. The salad tastes quite sweet.

Brussels sprouts in Italy are called cavolini or cavoletti di Bruxelles (or Brussels).

The Brussels sprouts in my mother’s kitchen were always brasati (braised in a little broth – stock or stock cube with a little water). My mother’s brussel sprouts were always overcooked and unfortunately for me this seems to be the preferred way that  Italians prefer to eat vegetables.

DSC_0023

INGREDIENTS
Brussels sprouts, 1k
onions, 2 sliced finely
butter and extra virgin olive oil, ½-¾ cup
stock/broth, veal or chicken, ½- 1 cup
pepper and salt to taste

PROCESSES
Remove the external leaves to the cavolini, and cut a little cross at the base
(to help them cook evenly).
Precook them for about 5 mins by boiling them in salted, boiling water (I do not pre cook them) and drain well.
Sauté the onions in a mixture of oil and butter, add the cavolini and toss them around till coated.
Add the broth, salt and pepper, partly cover them with a lid and braise slowly.

brussells_0084blog

Red cabbage (cavolo cappuccio rosso) is not a Sicilian vegetable, but is appreciated in Trieste and goes very well with pork. The following recipe has Austrian origins, which is not surprising when one looks at Trieste’s location.




INGREDIENTS

bacon or speck cut into very small cubes, ½ – 1 cup

red cabbage, ½ sliced very thinly
extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
red wine vinegar, ½ cup
cumin seeds,
salt and pepper to taste

PROCESSES
Lightly brown the bacon or speck in a little oil.
Boil the vinegar, add the cumin seeds and a little salt and pour the hot mixture over the cabbage.
Add the bacon, toss and let it marinade for at least 2 hours.
Add a drizzle of oil when ready to serve.

Cooked cabbage is not very common in Sicily, but it is in Trieste and I have always loved the way my mother cooks Savoy cabbage (cappuccio verza).

When we first arrived in Australia, there was plenty of cabbage and not much else in the way of green vegetables, so cabbage was frequently eaten. As silly as this may seem to you, I used to love this cabbage dish as a filling in a sandwich or panino (bread roll). Although it was my favourite filling I used to cringe on those occasions that my mother had packed this for my school lunch. It used to smell so strongly and on those particular days, I used to pretend I had forgotten my lunch and ate it on the way home. My school bag always needed to be aired overnight.

INGREDIENTS
Savoy cabbage, ½ sliced thinly
garlic, 3 cloves, chopped
white wine, ½ glass or water
bay leaves, 2, fresh
salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil, ½-¾ cup

PROCESSES
Add the garlic and the cabbage to the hot oil.
Stir the cabbage in the oil until it begins to soften, add the wine, bay leaves and the salt and pepper.
Cover the pan and cook on very gentle heat for at least 20 minutes (my mother cooked it twice as long). Stir from time to time to ensure that it is not sticking and add more wine or water if necessary.

See Recipes:

CIME DI RAPE

CAVOLO NERO

CAVOLOFIORE  AFFOGATO (cauliflower)

KOHIRABI with pasta