Showing posts sorted by relevance for query cabbage. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query cabbage. Sort by date Show all posts
I just adore all the fresh local produce that we find in the shops at this time of year . . . lovely cabbages, red, white and savoy . . . beautiful carrots, and onions . . . potatoes, beetroot, parsnips, beans, cauliflower, leeks, etc. There is no end to it all . . . that makes me a very happy camper. I love to eat seasonally and everything tastes so very delicious when it's fresh and local.
I love to showcase these fabulous fresh ingredients in any way that I can and incorporate them into our meals on a regular basis. I have to confess that you cannot get a much nicer bake . . . than a vegetable gratin . . .
This one that I am sharing with you today is especially nice . . . using not only potatoes and onions . . . but cabbage and bacon as well . . . and not one . . . but TWO lovely cheeses.
First a nice freshly grated chunk of wonderful Parmesan cheese. True Parmigiano-Reggiano has a beautiful complex flavor that goes very nicely in dishes like this. It brings to the table a slightly nutty/fruity flavor along with a strong savory undertone . . . a wonderful addition.
Then there is an abundant amount of taleggio cheese, which is a washed rind and smear ripened Italian cheese with a strong aroma, but fruity mild taste. It's beautiful melting qualities are perfectly showcased in this lovely dish.
Let's not forget the back bacon . . . which lends a light smokey flavor, which is quite delightful when enjoyed along side of the cheeses and those tender vegetables.
Mind you . . . there's not much that can't be beautifully enhanced with the addition of bacon and cheese don't you think??? Nom Nom! A simple supper with complex and robust flavors. I like that very much.
*Cheesy Bacon, Potato & Cabbage Gratin*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe
Wholesome, hearty and delicious autumn fare. A novel way of using autumn produce that will please the whole family.
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
185g back bacon, diced (6.5 ounces)
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp chili flakes (or to taste)
675g of savoy cabbage, trimmed, quartered and cut into a chunky dice (1 1/2 pounds)
55g freshly grated Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
butter for buttering the pan
225g of taleggio cheese, diced (8 ounces)
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the potato and bring back to the boil. Cover and cook for exactly 5 minutes, or until just barely tender. Drain well and then place in a large bowl.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the bacon and fry until the bacon begins to color. Lower the heat and add the onions, garlic, thyme and chili flakes. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened.
Wash the cabbage pieces. Tip a third of it into the pan while it is still wet. Cook, stirring and adding more cabbage as it wilts in the pan, until you have added all of the cabbage and adding a bit of water as necessary to help keep the cabbage from sticking to the pan. Once the cabbage is completely wilted, remove the pan from the heat and dump this mixture into the bowl with the potatoes. Toss gently together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Tip in half of the Parmesan cheese.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a 9 inch square glass baking dish, at least 2 inches deep.
Layer half of the cabbage and potato mixture into the pan. Dot with half of the taleggio cheese. Cover with the remaining cabbage and potato mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese and dot with the remaining taleggio.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the vegetables are piping hot and the cheese is bubbling and flecked golden brown.
A little pickle on the side and some buttered bread and we were in heaven . . .
One thing I love most about Winter is that we get to enjoy lovely homemade soups with abandon. There is no time like the present to be enjoying these beautiful forms of sustenance!
Everything I know about making soup, I learned from my mother. She made beautiful soups. As a family we loved her soups and one of the first things we always looked forward after we grew up and went home for a visit, was a hot bowl of one of her homemade soups.
Mum never skimmed the fat from her soups. She always told us those little beads of fat floating on top were the vitamins. I do skim the fat, but I always smile while I am doing it, thinking of all the vitamins . . . .
One of my favourite memories is from when I was living on my own after my divorce. I had a rented room in someone else's house. It was January and I had come down with the "man" flu . . . horrible, soul wrenching, energy draining flu.
I was in bed for several days, not caring if I was dead or alive. There came a knock on the door one day and there stood my mother with a lovely container of her homemade chicken soup. Nectar of the Gods. And filled with vitamins, no doubt! 😉 But when you're sick . . . who cares.
A good homemade soup is one of the most beautiful examples of love you can share with someone you care about . . .it is indeed soup for the soul.
This version I am showing you today starts with a delicious homemade stock which is made from the carcass of a roasted chicken. I always freeze my roast chicken carcasses specifically for the purpose of making soups.
You don't always feel like making the soup right away, so freezing them makes good sense. I just pop them into an empty bread bag, tie it shut and pop it into the freezer.
I also cut up my own chickens to use in dishes and save the backs and necks, also for the purpose of making flavourful stocks. All get frozen for future use.
Breasts in one container, legs in another, wings in another, and backs & necks. Its a cheaper way of having chicken portions to hand, and just makes economic sense to me.
For this delicious soup I combined my own homemade stock, pearl barley, grated parsnips, and cabbage with perfectly delicious results. You can use ready made stock as well if you want.
You will still end up with a fabulously tasty soup. Perfect for these cold winter days and for whatever ails you.
*Roast Chicken Soup with Barley, Parsnips and Cabbage*
Serves 4
a generous sprig of thyme
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley
140g pearl barley (3/4 cup)
Put the chicken stock into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Add
the spring of thyme, parsley and pearl barley and reduce to a simmer.
Cover and cook for about forty five minutes. Add the vegetables,bring
to the boil again and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for a further 15 to
20 minutes, until all of the vegetables and the barley are very soft.
Add the chicken and heat through. Season to taste with salt and black
pepper, squeeze the lemon juice over top and serve.
You can make your own chicken broth quite easily with the carcass of your leftover roast chicken. Homemade is always better than ready made in my opinion.
*Roast Chicken Broth*
Makes 3 to 4 litres (2 to 3 quarts)
1 tsp sea salt
a handful of fresh parsley sprigs, and other soft herbs such at thyme, oregano, savoury, sage or marjoram
Any leftovers can also be frozen, ready to haul out at the first sign of a sniffle. Almost as good as a mother's hug when you are feeling a bit under the weather. Bon Appetit!
New Potato Colcannon. This is a delicious colcannon recipe I wanted to share with you before Saint Patricks' Day on the 17th of March. There is something pretty wonderful that happens when you combine cabbage and potatoes and Ireland.
Its called Colcannon! And its very Irish. This is a slightly healthier version of the original. Created to be low GI and very diabetic friendly.
During the 17th and 18th century in Europe and Ireland, cabbages, potatoes and leeks were considered to be the basic foods of the common serf, man. In other words, most people. Only the very wealthy could afford to eat fancier foods.
Colcannon is the inevitable result of mankind's ability to make lemonade out of lemons. And it is a most delicious way to present these three simple ingredients. This dish however uses milder spring onions rather than the much stronger flavored leek.
A first reference to Colcannon in Irish History was found in the 1735 diary entry of William Bulkely, a traveler from Wales who was introduced to the dish on a Halloween night in Dublin:
“Dined at Cos. Wm. Parry, and also supped there upon a shoulder of mutton roasted and what they call there Coel Callen, which is cabbage boiled, potatoes and parsnips, all this mixed together. They eat well enough, and is a Dish always had in this Kingdom on this night.”
The word colcannon is derived from the Gaelic term “cal ceannann” which means white-headed cabbage. Although generally speaking these days the dish is made from either Kale or the darker green savoy cabbage!
Humble ingredients put together in a most delicious way, this is considered haute cuisine in many multiple Michelin star restaurants. In short this is a beautiful side dish well deserving to be served on any table!
This version I am sharing today boasts the addition of some smoky and salty pancetta. Oh, I just adore bacon and pancetta. Both go so very well with cabbages and potatoes of any kind, hence the addition of pancetta to this dish only makes sense.
New potatoes are considered to be low GI. In order to be considered low GI, a food must have a glucose index score of less than 55. These carbohydrates take longer to break down than their higher GI counterparts, which means that they cause a persons sugar levels to raise much more slowly, which is good news when it comes to controlling your diet as a diabetic.
I love it when the side dish becomes the star of the meal. I am a vegetable lover after all, and could be quite happy if I never ate meat again.
Well, I tell, a bit of a lie there because I would miss a good steak every now and again, and I do kind of like roast chicken and turkey. And a really well done Prime Rib Roast is a magnificent thing to behold and to eat!
Okay . . . I guess it's settled. I just like to eat. But I do have my favorite things and vegetables are one of them!
This Crushed New Potato Colcannon is a delightful side dish! Chock full of lovely savoy cabbage and new potatoes. It is also a perfect side dish to enjoy on Saint Patrick's Day.
I have also used spring onions, which have a nice mild onion flavor, not too harsh. It goes really well with the cabbage.
Savoy cabbage is quite a mild flavored cabbage. If you were to use leeks, or even regular onions, you run the risk of them overpowering the dish.
This is a case where you want to be able to taste the cabbage. Another reason I chose savoy is because it is has such a pretty green color and Saint Patrick's Day is all about the green!
This is a side dish that goes together really quickly once you have the individual elements of it ready to go. I sautéed the prosciutto first in a skillet, reserving the drippings for the finish.
The cabbage itself, was lightly steamed, so as to help preserve that rich green color. The potatoes were boiled in lightly salted water, just until they were fork tender.
You could actually do all of these things earlier in the day or the night before so that when the time came, you could quickly and easily just throw the dish together.
Spring onions/scallions are cooked in the pan drippings, just long enough to wilt them without browning. Once you've done that you quickly add the potatoes to the pan, heating them through and crushing them a bit in the process.
Then you add the cabbage and prosciutto, gently tossing everything together and heating both as well. A knob of butter is optionally thrown in at the end to add a bit of richness, but I can tell you, this beautiful side dish is every bit as delicious without it. ''
This was served simply with some grilled bangers/sausages, steamed carrots and a spoonful of grainy Dijon mustard. It would also go well with grilled pork or lamb chops, or even grilled chicken.
In fact, this is pretty tasty all on its own. Not to confess or anything, but I could be quite happy with just a plate of this and nothing else!!
Crushed New Potato Colcannon
Yield: 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 35 Min
A healthier version of an old Irish favorite. Its delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds (600g) new potatoes, unpeeled, washed well and cut in half
- 3/4 pound (400g) savoy cabbage, washed, trimmed and coarsely shredded
- 2 tsp sunflower oil
- 4 rashers prosciutto, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 6 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced (scallions)
- 2 TBS (25g) butter, cubed (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the prosciutto into a large skillet, along with the oil. Cook, until crisp. Scoop out and drain on paper towels.
- Set the skillet aside for now and reserve the pan drippings.
- Put the potatoes into a saucepan of lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 18 to 20 minutes until tender. Drain well.
- Cook the cabbage in boiling water for about 3 minutes, until just tender. Drain well, run under cold water and drain again.
- Reheat the drippings in the skillet. Add the spring onions to the skillet and soften without coloring.
- Add the cabbage and heat through. Drop in the potatoes and lightly crush.
- Stir through the prosciutto and season to taste. If you are using butter, stir it in now.
- Serve hot.
Thank you for visiting! Do come again!
I recently purchased a new cookery book. I know . . . I didn't really need a new cookerybook, but it was my birthday and cookbooks are what bring me the most pleasure. I read them like novels and always have a stack next to the bed which I am flipping through. Call it what you will. Obsession? Guilty as charged! This one is really special however. It's called The Country Cooking of Ireland, by Coleman Andrews and it's a real winner. I have always felt that if you want to get a real sense of what a country is like, you will embrace the food of that country . . . and to do that you really need to get into the thick of the countryside. Let me tell you . . . the Irish countryside is a very delicious place! Especially if this recipe is a fair representation of that, and I believe it is.
When I was a child I was not really fond of sausages. I am not sure why. Perhaps it was the kind of sausages my mother bought, or the way that she cooked them.
I did come to love them very much as an adult. I like them the way my father always used to enjoy them. Pan fried with a dollop of mayonnaise on the side.
Great Britain has some of the loveliest sausages in the world, so long as you are buying quality ones. The cheap and nasty ones are not so good, but cheap and nasty is not so good no matter where you are living!!
I was especially fond of their Cumberland Sausage. Nice and spicy. I have a goal this winter to try to make my own from scratch. I really miss them!
We had a local butcher where I lived that made fabulous sausages. His apple, sage and onion ones were especially tasty. You can tell a good butcher by the quality of his sausage.
My butcher was a very good butcher because he produced very good sausages, or Bangers as they are loving called in the UK.
The term bangers supposedly originated during World War I, when meat shortages resulted in sausages being made with a number of fillers, notably water, that caused them to explode when cooked. (Wikipedia)
I am not sure how true this is, but I am going with it. They do say that if you prick them the skins won't burst in cooking. I confess I don't mind if the skins burst a bit because you end up with nice crispy bits and I love those crispy bits.
Here in Canada, President's Choice make some very excellent Bangers. Free From Bangers, so called because they are created from pork which has been raised by Canadian Farmers without antibiotics.
They are also raised without the use of hormones from grain fed animals and are always fresh and never frozen. All plus's in my books.
Most important of all they taste really good. And no I have not been paid or given free product to say any of this. It is quite simply my opinion.
Now that I am back in Canada, and there is only one to feed on most days, I still wanted to be able to enjoy my favorite Bangers. But I didn't necessarily want to cook a whole package of them.
I tend to freeze my sausage after I buy them now. I package them into two sausage units, ready to take out and cook as and when I want a sausage for supper. On this day there happened to be three sausage in the package, so I cooked three.
I am also all for shortcuts when it comes to cooking for just me. I don't want to have to do a lot of dishes afterwards. Yes, I can be that lazy. Sorry about that!
Meals where I can cook everything in one pan are my favorite kinds of meals! This one pan Sausage and Vegetable Skillet Dinner is something I threw together the other day that turned out to be really delicious!
Not only did I end up with some perfectly cooked sausages, but I also had potatoes and two vegetables to enjoy on the side!
Everything was perfectly cooked as well, and it was all ready in not much more than half an hour, which was perfect for me!
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO COOK SAUSAGE & VEGETABLE SKILLET DINNER
Not a lot really and you could probably vary the vegetables you choose to cook a bit. Just make sure they are vegetables that cook in roughly the same amount of time.
- thick pork sausages (bangers)
- a large baking potato
- a large carrot
- half of a small cabbage
- sweet apple cider (like cloudy apple juice in the uk)
- dried thyme, salt and black pepper
- a tiny bit of oil
Not a lot of ingredients really but what an amazing result!
HOW TO COOK SAUSAGE & VEGETABLE SKILLET DINNER
This was a really simple supper. I love meals that cook all in one pan. Less to clean up when done. No fuss, no muss works for me!
Cooked properly you will end up with tender golden brown sausages. Perfectly cooked vegetables, and potatoes which are nice and crispy edged.
If you prep all of your vegetables before you begin, things go together really quickly. I peeled both the carrot and the potato. I cut the potato into thick flat slices and I cut the carrot in half lengthwise and then into thirds.
The cabbage was cored and then cut into thick slices. I used only half a small cabbage which was plenty for two people.
I began by browning the sausage all over in a tiny bit of oil in a medium sized deep skillet (with a lid). You only need to brown them, not cook them through. Its best to do this on a moderate heat.
I also added the potato slices to the skillet when I was browning the sausage. This was also to brown the edges of the potato, not cook them through. As you can see I got some really nice golden edges.
I then added the cabbage and the carrots. I tossed the cabbage a bit to coat it in the pan juices, and nestled the carrots down into the cabbage.
Once I had done that I added some sweet apple cider and seasoning everything with some salt, black pepper and a bit of dried thyme. I also sprinkled some paprika on the potatoes.
Covered tightly, this cooked over medium low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, at which time everything was perfectly cooked. I uncovered and turned the heat up to help evaporate any pan juices and crisp up the potatoes.
It also gilded the cabbage a bit. I love cabbage which has been fried and gilded with pan juices, don't you???
If you wanted to you could make a gravy to go with this, but I didn't. I enjoyed it just as is.
Perfectly cooked meaty sausages. Crispy edged potatoes. Perfectly crispy tender cabbage and carrots.
This was one very excellent meal. I enjoyed it with a dollop of grainy mustard on the side and today I am going to make a tasty hash of the leftovers for me to enjoy. I do so love a good hash made with tasty leftovers, don't you?
Sausage and Vegetable Skillet Dinner
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 30 Min
This wonderfully hearty meal for two cooks all in one skillet. No fuss, no muss and delicious! Only one pan to clean up as well. Bonus!
Ingredients
- 1/2 TBS canola oil
- two large banger sausages (I use the free from Bangers by PC)
- 1/2 small cabbage
- 1 large carrot
- 1 large baking potato
- 1/4 cup sweet apple cider (cloudy apple juice)
- sweet paprika
- salt and black pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- grainy mustard to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Core your cabbage and cut into thick slices. Peel the carrot and potato. Cut the carrot in half and then into thirds. Cut the potato into flat chunks.
- Heat the oil in a medium sized skillet over medium high. Add the sausage and potato. Brown on all sides. Add the cabbage and carrot. Season all with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper and a dash of paprika for color. Pour in the apple cider.
- Cover tightly and simmer on medium low for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables have softened and the sausage is cooked through.
- Remove the cover and continue to cook until any liquid in the pan has evaporated and the potatoes are nicely browned.
- Divide the mixture between two heated plates and serve with some grainy mustard if desired.
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