Cream Braised Green Cabbage

Now that we are harvesting cabbage, I cannot stop making this.

A bed of Gonzales cabbages.

Excerpted from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, including author's tips.

This recipe calls for a fairly small cabbage. I like to use small ones because they're often sweeter and more tender than their big-headed siblings. If, however, you can only find a larger cabbage, you can certainly use it. Just be sure to only use as many wedges as fit into a single layer in the pan, and take care that each wedge is no thicker than 2 inches at its outer wedge. Otherwise, the cabbage won't cook properly.

You can also try this method on halved or quartered Brussels sprouts.

1 small green cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

First, prepare the cabbage. Pull away any bruised leaves, and trim its root end to remove any dirt. Cut the cabbage into quarters, and then cut each quarter in half lengthwise, taking care to keep a little bit of the core in each wedge. (The core will help to hold the wedge intact, so that it doesn't fall apart in the pan.) You should wind up with 8 wedges of equal size.

In a large (12-inch) skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage wedges, arranging them in a single crowded layer with one of the cut sides down. Allow them to cook, undisturbed, until the downward facing side is nicely browned, 5 to 8 minutes. I like mine to get some good color here, so that they have a sweetly caramelized flavor. Then, using a pair tongs, gently turn the wedges onto their other cut side. When the second side has browned, sprinkle the salt over the wedges, and add the cream. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, and reduce the heat so that the liquid stays at a slow, gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and gently, using tongs, flip the wedges. Cook another 20 minutes, or until the cabbage is very tender and yields easily when pierced with a thin, sharp knife. Add the lemon juice, and shake the pan to distribute it evenly.

Simmer, uncovered, for a few more minutes more to thicken the cream to a glaze that loosely coats the cabbage. Serve immediately, with additional salt at the table.

Variation:

• Not wanting the indulgent richness of the cream as a side dish to accompany a summer dinner of lemon roasted chicken with rhubarb onion sauce, I followed this same cabbage recipe, but used an IPA beer instead of cream. It turned out delish and still a little creamy thanks to the butter.
  

Japanese Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki) with Sweet & Tangy Sauce

This recipe is something from way back in March, when we were using up the last of the winter cabbages, and digging up the last of the leeks. No more leeks now until around September, but cabbage is just starting to come on, and we have tons of peas and garlic scapes. One of the exciting things about cooking on a farm is working with seasonal ingredients, so here's a favorite cabbage recipe, adapted for two different times of the year.

Pancake recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks
Makes 3 pancakes

pancakes:
1/2 cup white rice flour
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
oil to fry

veggies late winter/early spring:
1.5 cups cabbage, shredded
1 cup leeks, halved and diced
1/4 cup carrots, grated

veggies early summer:
2 cups cabbage, shredded
1/4 cup snow peas, cut into horizontal strips
1/4 cup garlic scapes, minced
1/4 cup carrots, grated

sauce:
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup Ketchup
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1/4 cup Brown sugar
1 tbsp Mustard powder
Pepper to taste

To make the sauce, combine worchestershire sauce, ketchup, and soy sauce in a small saucepan until simmering. Add brown sugar and mustard powder and stir until dissolved. Cook for 5-10 minutes until reduced by 1/3 or until you get the yummy thick consistency of teriyaki or barbeque sauce. Resist the urge to take a spoonful and let your sauce cool while you start your pancakes.

Finely shred cabbage. If using carrots, peel, then grate on a large-size cheese grater. If using leeks, cut green tops and bottom roots of leeks and cut remaining white section down the center. Wash well to get rid of any grit that might be stuck way down in there. Slice the washed leeks into half-moons. If using scapes and peas, dice both into slices 1/4'' wide. Mix cabbage, carrots and other vegetables together in a bowl.

Add rice flour, salt and pepper and mix well. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and water together. Pour the egg over the veggies and stir well to coat. The mixture will not seem batter like -- it will be more like veggies coated in flour. This is okay.

Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. When hot, scoop 1/3 of the mixture into the center of the pan. Use your spoon or fork to flatten out batter. It's best if the batter reaches all the way to the sides of the pan, this helps the pancake keep its shape as it's cooking. Fry for 2-3 minutes on one side; turn over by placing a large plate on top of the pan and flipping over. Return the pancake to the pan, other side up and fry another 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and serve piping hot, drizzled with sauce.

Garlic scapes and snow peas substitute for leeks in the summer version of this crispy cabbage pancake

Using rice flour instead of wheat flour makes for a crispier, lighter pancake and a gluten-free dinner option

Late June Russian Borscht

Everything in the borscht takes on the deep fuchsia of the beets.

This soup can amazingly use mostly farm ingredients when made at the right time of year! Cabbage, carrots, beets, and new potatoes are easy to come by late June. We used some frozen tomatoes from last year's crop, and if you stocked up and stored your onions carefully, you might just have one still lying around come June. (That might also be the case for potatoes if you stored them carefully, rather than using the more tender and precious new potatoes.)

This year's farmer's market offerings on June 20th included carrots and beets.

adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced potato
1 cup thinly sliced beets
4 cups chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 scant teaspoon caraway seeds
1 1/2 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
1 medium sized carrot, sliced
3 to 4 cups shredded cabbage
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons Bill's honey
1 cup crushed tomatoes
fresh dill and sour cream for garnish

Directions:
Place potatoes, beets, and stock in a medium-sized pot. Cover and cook over medium heat till tender (20 to 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven. Add onion, caraway seeds, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent (8 to 10 minutes).

Add carrots, cabbage, and 2 cups of the cooking liquid from the potatoes and beets. Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender (another 8 to 10 minutes).

Add remaining ingredients, including all the potato and beet liquid, cover, and simmer for at least 15 minutes. Taste to correct seasonings, and serve hot, topped with sour cream and a pinch of fresh dill.

Peeling the beets.

Sliced beets and potatoes are cooked till tender in chicken stock.

The carrots, cabbage and onions are combined with 2 cups of liquid from the beets and potatoes.

Bowls of soup garnished with sour cream and dill and served with slices of Cafe Demeter walnut bread.