I married a man who doesn’t like cabbage. I mean, Victor has a bazillion or two other redeeming qualities, but every now and again, I miss my cabbage.
He’s tried… He’s even made me one of the best stuffed cabbage dishes, ever – courtesy of Ina Garten. But truth be known, if he never saw it again, he really wouldn’t be all that upset.
And then we planted cabbage in the garden. Just a couple of heads, but, there it is.
That’s a bit of a game-changer! It’s one thing to eschew something at the store. It’s another thing entirely when it’s growing in your backyard. I don’t think either of us really thought we were going to get actual heads of cabbage. Imagine our surprise when we did!
Naturally, if it’s in the garden we have to eat it, so I started looking for some recipes, today. I wanted something that would pretty much hide the cabbage intensity and quickly found a recipe from the New York Times.
It’s a mixture of shredded cabbage and shredded winter squash – in my case, it was a delicata – along with rice, eggs, and cheese. How could it be bad?!?
Sautéed Shredded Cabbage and Squash
adapted from the New York Times
for the vegetables:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound winter squash, peeled and shredded
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ¾ pound green cabbage, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
for the gratin:
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup low-fat milk
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup rice or barley, cooked and cooled
- 2 ounces Gruyère, grated (1/2 cup)
- 1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)
put it together:
Start your rice.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet or a wok and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the shredded winter squash and the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until not quite tender, about 10 minutes, and add the remaining oil, the cabbage, sage, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.
Continue to cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375º and butter a 2-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the cooked grains and the cooked vegetables.
Add the cheeses and stir everything together, then scrape into the prepared baking dish.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the gratin is set. Allow to cool for 15 minutes or longer before serving. The gratin is good hot, warm or at room temperature.
I used dried sage and thyme – I always have dried herbs on hand – and cut the amount back to 1 teaspoon each.
The flavor was very much like that of a stuffing – and both Victor and Nonna loved it! Victor actually said I could cook it any time I wanted! That’s a pretty big compliment from a non-cabbage-liker!
It really is full of Autumn flavors and I think it would be great for Thanksgiving!
Methinks we shall be making this, again!