Braised Cabbage Recipes

Braised Cabbage Recipes

Before I give you two delicious Braised Cabbage recipes, let’s first look at how not to cook cabbage: do not boil it for half an hour or more until it becomes limp, soggy, grey and sulphurous.  This “traditional” method of cooking cabbage (and other vegetables) beloved of school dinners, transport cafes and some grannies is thankfully declining, as the disgusting results are likely to put people off their veggies for life.

I’m giving two Braised Cabbage recipes here; the first is for a side-dish, while the second makes a feature of the cabbage and is a meal in itself, and uses a few other vegetables to add further flavour, contrast and texture.  As often with Guerilla Griller recipes, these can be seen more as methods than strict instructions; it’s of course impossible here to give precise quantities – after all, how big is your cabbage?

Simple Braised Cabbage Recipe for a Side-Dish: Ingredients

One cabbage, any kind that is good, fresh and seasonal

A little butter (perhaps one or two tablespoons)

A little water (similar quantity to butter)

A pinch or two of salt and a good grind of black pepper

Simple Braised Cabbage Recipe for a Side-Dish: Method

Quarter the cabbage, cut out the cores and remove any coarse, limp or discoloured outer leaves.  Chop or shred the cabbage, not too finely.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat, put in the cabbage and stir well until coated in the butter.  Add the water and seasonings, stir again, cover and cook on a very low heat, checking progress and stirring from time to time.  After about half an hour the cabbage should be tender rather than soggy, and will have absorbed all the butter and liquids.   A simple, yet delicious recipe.

Cook’s Tip: variation for serving with pork – add a thinly sliced, cored, eating apple to the cabbage at the beginning of cooking.

Braised Cabbage Main Course Recipe: Ingredients

(I cannot be exact about quantities/size/weights, but consider the cabbage to be the star of the show so use approximately two parts cabbage to one part combined other veggies)

One cabbage, any kind that is good, fresh and seasonal

One or two carrots, depending on size

One or two onions, depending on size

One stick of celery

Salt and pepper

One star anise (optional)

Garlic to your taste, peeled and sliced

A little butter (perhaps one or two tablespoons)

Some stock (proper stock, not made from powder – a good, home-made vegetable or chicken stock, or perhaps some of your own turkey stock that you made after Christmas and stored in useful quantities in your freezer) – a similar quantity to the butter

Braised Cabbage Main Course Recipe: Method

Quarter the cabbage, remove and discard the core and any outer leaves as in the first recipe.  De-string the celery.  Peel the onion and carrot.  Chop or shred all the veggies to a similar thickness – if you like, make the carrots into julienne (thin matchstick strips) for a pleasing contrast.  Peel and thinly slice the garlic.

As in the first recipe, melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat, put in the vegetables and stir well until coated in the butter.  Add the stock, the star anise and seasonings, stir again, cover and cook on a very low heat, checking progress and stirring from time to time.  As in the first recipe, the idea is that the veggies will be perfectly tender and will have absorbed the butter and all the liquids.

Remove and discard the star anise before serving.

A portion of this will make a satisfying and tasty meal on its own, but you could serve it with good crusty bread, or your favourite potatoes.

Cook’s Tip: Variation – add more stock as you desire and transform the recipe into a stew (more moist than the above) or even a soup (shred all the veggies more finely for this).