Cooking Cabbage
Best Ways of Cooking Cabbage
Fall vegetables bring delicious comfort foods to the table, and some of the most popular comfort dishes involve cooking cabbage; a tasty and nutritious vegetable.
This autumn favorite can be eaten either raw or cooked. Nutritionally speaking, cabbage is good for you either way it is prepared. An excellent source of potassium, manganese and calcium, cabbage is also a good source of iron, phosphorous and magnesium. The fact that this great vegetable provides fiber, omega 3 fatty acids and folate makes it a valuable diet food; with the added benefit of it being low in calories, cholesterol and fat. Cabbage even provides vitamins; thiamin, B2, niacin, vitamin K, and a high source of Vitamin C. In short, either eaten raw or by cooking, cabbage is packed with taste and nutrition.
The vegetable is popular in many countries, where the art of cooking cabbage has been adapted into their unique native dishes. The fact that cabbage is an extremely hardy and easy to grow vegetable means that it is also an inexpensive one; making it a favorite staple for peasant cooking. Germans use cabbage extensively in their cooking, including stuffing steamed cabbage leaves with a meat mixture, brining shredded cabbage into sauerkraut and simply boiled as a side dish. Russians also were fond of cooking cabbage, with a soup made in either sweet or sour form being a favorite.
Cooking cabbage can be done in a variety of ways. The most basic way is to core the cabbage, cut it into wedges and boil it, either in salted water or in a broth. Many recipes for cabbage begin with this basic, such as a New England boiled dinner which combines meat, potatoes, carrots and onions with the cooked cabbage for a delectable fall dinner. The steamed leaves of cooked cabbage can be stuffed with beef, pork or chicken that has been mixed with an egg and breadcrumbs, rolled and then cooked with tomato sauces or lemon butter sauces. A delicious cabbage and cheese casserole can be baked in the oven and served as a main dish or side dish.
Delicious side dishes can be prepared by cooking cabbage. Cabbage cut into fine shreds, sautéed in butter with either of two selections; shredded carrots and onion or thinly sliced apples and onion are perfect accompaniments to pork dishes. Making a slaw as a side dish is a good alternative to cooking cabbage, especially for a late summer, warm day barbeque.
The versatility plus the nutritional value of this autumn vegetable makes it an extremely popular choice around the world. Cooking cabbage will not only be a delicious comfort food addition to your meal table, but a healthy choice as well.