The Humble Cabbage
Cooks, dietitians and nutritionists
have deluged us in recent years with the praises of kale, while relatively
ignoring its cousin in the Cruciferous vegetable family, the humble cabbage. Cabbage
has long been maligned in literary descriptions of Northern culture diets and
cramped city conditions as being unpleasantly odiferous. Not so, it only
becomes odiferous by releasing its sulfurous smell when overcooked, but tastes
delicious raw, astutely cooked, steamed or fermented.
Cabbage with thick leaves and
resistance to cold first appeared in Northern Europe about 3000 years ago,
though in Northern China a more leafy version was on the local menus as early
as 4000 years ago. The English word cabbage comes from old-French “caboche”, or head. Cold resistance as
well as good keeping qualities for winters, when vegetables were scarce, have
kept cabbage an essential crop for thousands of years.
Cabbage ranges in color from pale
green to purple and in texture from loose tender leaves of Napa cabbage to the
tightly packed heads more commonly encountered everyday. It boasts only 20
calories per ½ cup cooked cabbage, but is chock full of fiber, nutrients,
vitamins such as K and E, folate and a variety of antioxidants. While some of
these are more readily accessible in cooked cabbage as in the case of carrots,
raw cabbage is digested nearly three times as fast as cooked cabbage.
Cabbage, carrot and radish salad with
sour cream is one of my all year favorites, but in summer oil and vinegar-based
dressings are safer when exposed to warmer temperatures. Here is a modified
recipe of a cabbage salad from Irene Heinemier, served many years ago at many
Good Shepherd Lutheran church functions in Nevada. The recipe can be easily
doubled for a crowd.
Oriental Cabbage Salad
Toast ½ cup sliced almonds with 1 ½ tblsp. sesame seeds for 8-10 minutes in a 350
degree oven until lightly browned. Thinly shred 5-6 cups Napa or green cabbage
in a large bowl. Toss with 3 thinly sliced scallions with green tops, 1 package
broken Top Ramen noodles (Oriental flavor) and the toasted almonds and sesame
seeds. Dressing: ½ cup olive oil, 3 tblsp. white vinegar, 2 tblsp. sugar, ½
tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper and the packet of Oriental flavoring from the noodles.
Toss cabbage mix with dressing just before serving to preserve the crunchy
texture of some of the ingredients.
A recent supper at our house, that featured
barbecued pork, led me to come up with this side dish or warm cabbage salad with
slightly tangy overtones.
Warm
Cabbage Salad with Caraway Seeds
Sautè ½ large chopped onion in 2 tblsp. olive oil in
a large pan for 3 minutes. Stir in 4 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage, 2
chopped garlic cloves and ¾ tsp. caraway seeds and continue to fry with
frequent stirring on medium high heat for 10 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup water and 2
tblsp. white vinegar and continue cooking for another 8 minutes. Stir in 2-3
tblsp. liquid from a jar of kimchi and cook for an additional 4 minutes. Serve
warm.
Spring brings me to one of my easy favorite tomato
soups, which has the added benefits of minimal preparation, low calories and a
delicious use for leftover rice.
Tomato,
Cabbage and Rice Soup
Bring to boil 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
in a 3 quart pot. Add 2 cups coarsely shredded green cabbage and cook for 15
minutes. Stir in 2 cups tomato juice, regular or spicy according to taste, and
cook over low heat for 5 minutes after the soup reaches boiling. Stir in 1 cup
cooked rice, cook until heated through and serve.
Move over kale and broccoli. The humble cabbage can
be proud of its own nutritional as well a culinary right.
(I. Winicov
Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and
Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website:
www.winicov-harrington.com)
