THE HUMBLE CABBAGE

We ate a lot of cabbage growing up. My Mom's parent's were born in Hungary and cabbage was a staple in our house. One of her favorite dishes (and mine, too!) is Kaposzta Kocka Galuska, which she always just called Kaposzta, which means cabbage. Kocka translates to square, the traditional shape of the pasta used in this dish and Galuska means noodle. Mom always used her homemade pappardelle for this dish, an excellent choice as it's meaty and holds up well. 

There are many varieties of cabbage, but the most common is Green Cabbage. Growing up in a small, rural farming community in New Hampshire there were not a lot of cabbage choices so Green Cabbage it was. Here's her recipe for Hungarian Noodles and Cabbage. 

KAPOSZTA KOCKA GALUSKA-CABBAGE AND NOODLES

Ingredients:

16 oz. dried pasta

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 head cabbage, outer coarse leaves removed, cored and chopped

Salt (lots) and Pepper

Preparation:

Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to boil. Stir in pasta. Return to boil, cook uncovered until pasta is just barely tender, about 5 minutes, depending on thickness of pasta. Drain. This dish works best with dried pasta and Mom usually made big batches of pasta and then kept dried. 

Melt the butter in a large heavy bottomed skillet, like cast iron. Add the chopped cabbage, salt, pepper and stir occasionally until the cabbage has wilted, about 5-8 minutes. 

Gently stir in cooked noodles. Check for seasoning. This dish needs a lot of salt. Cover and continue cooking on medium heat for another 20 minutes. 

I did recently do a twist on this comfort dish as I was making pork schnitzel and wanted to add a German style pasta so made the same dish with half the butter. I used 1/2 of a Sweetheart cabbage. Cook the cabbage down adding salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp. brown sugar. The sugar helps to caramelize the cabbage. Add 3 Tbsp. Cider Vinegar and 1 Tbsp. caraway seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Add the noodles and you have a sweet and sour cabbage noodle dish. So easy!

MARY BERRY'S COLCANNON

Colcannon is to Ireland what Kaposzta is to Hungary. Simply delicious comfort food. I have talked about Ireland's famous comfort dish of Cabbage and Potatoes, but recently found this recipe from Mary Berry that sparks up the dish. Mary uses spring onions and cream, which made all the difference. Such a subtle, but noticeable difference. 

Ingredients:

8 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 head Sweetheart cabbage, outer leaves removed, then sliced and chopped*

3 spring onions, white part only chopped

Equal amounts milk and cream; start with 1/4 cup each, add more if too stiff

4 Tbsp. butter, more for dotting top

Salt/Pepper

Potatoes mashed. Cabbage cooking.

*Also known as Conehead Cabbage.

Preparation:

Cook potatoes thoroughly in salted water. Drain. Add milk, cream and 2 tbsp. butter. Mash and season with salt and pepper. Add more milk/cream until you have the right consistency, not too thick, but also not runny. You can always add more liquid, but can't take away so be cautious as you as you go.  In a large, heavy bottomed skillet melt 2 Tbsp. butter. Add cabbage and cook until wilted, about 5-8 minutes. Add spring onions and cook another 2 minutes. Mix cabbage and potatoes. Adjust seasoning and add more milk/cream if necessary. Scoop into a buttered casserole, dot with butter and bake at 350 degrees F for about 1/2 hour until top is slightly browned. 

THAT'S IT FOR TODAY FROM SUNNY GALWAY BAY!

GREAT TO BE BACK IN IRELAND!

LOOKING FORWARD TO A FULL SUMMER SEASON OF ADVENTURES IN AND OUT OF THE KITCHEN!

I'M GOING TO CLOSE WITH A COUPLE PHOTOS FROM OUR RECENT TRIP TO THE CLIFFS OF MOHER IN CO. CLARE WITH OUR SON AND HIS WIFE. 

SO BEAUTIFUL!

Justin and Alison!

The Cliffs of Moher are more than 320 million years old. Truly majestic and awe inspiring. One of Ireland's most important bird breeding sites; home to more than 20 species of nesting birds with up to 30,000 breeding pairs found each year. We even saw puffins this time!

I wish this was my photo, but we couldn't get that close.

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

 

 

MY FAVORITE LASAGNA AND A QUICK, SIMPLE HORS DOEUVRE!

 We're off to Ireland in a couple days so I wanted to share some food with you before we go. First, this easy, but very tasty hors d'oeuvre...

ROSEMARY PECANS

I found this recipe on the Real Simple website and they really are simple to make. I added a bit more rosemary than the recipe called for as I love the flavor of rosemary.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter (I almost always use Kerry Gold.)

1 tsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, or more if you want a spicier nut.

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

2 cups pecan halves

2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (I used 3.)

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sugar, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Add the pecans and toss to evenly coat.

Transfer the pecans to a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil and arrange in a single layer. Bake, stirring occasionally, until toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the rosemary and toss to combine. Serve warm or at room temp. 

I don't know how long they keep as they were gone as soon as I served them!

BEST EVER LASAGNA

This recipe came from the back of a Barilla lasagna noodle box. I was having a lasagna craving and the only lasagna noodles (No, I didn't make them this time!) were the oven-ready pasta. I have never used the no-cook pasta and had my doubts, but the lasagna came out perfectly. I did use my own tomato sauce, which I cooked the day before. I like Barilla sauce so if you don't have time, no problem, just use theirs. They call their recipe 5 Layer Oven-Ready Lasagna, but I only managed 3 layers in my 9x13 baking pan, which meant a few sheets of pasta left over. Because I used more cheese than their recipe called for, it filled the pan sooner. There really is no science to this. After all, it is a casserole! I served the lasagna with a Frico or cheese crisp inserted into the lasagna, and a simple salad with herby vinaigrette dressing.

Ingredients:

1 box Barilla Oven-Ready Lasagna

2 jars Barilla marinara sauce (or about 6 cups of your own)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. lean ground beef, browned (I used 3 Italian sausages browned out of their casings.)

Salt/Pepper to taste

15 oz. container ricotta cheese

4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (I used 2 cups parm.)

I added 2 cloves of finely minced garlic as I browned the sausage.

I also added about 2 tsp. of dried oregano to the cheese mixture. 

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 375. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and brown the meat and garlic, if using, until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, combine ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 cup parmesan. Add oregano, if using. Stir well. 

Spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Pour 1 cup of the sauce into the pan and spread to coat evenly. Place 3 sheets of lasagna side by side. Sheets will expand to ends of the dish while baking. I didn't believe this, but they did!

Pour 1 cup of sauce and 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture over the first layer. Just drop the cheese mixture by the teaspoon and spread evenly. Top with 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/2 cup parmesan and 1/3 cup of the cooked meat. Repeat for 3 more layers or as many layers as you can fit into the baking dish. 

For the final layer, top with 3 lasagna sheets, add the remaining sauce and top with remaining cheese mixture and mozzarella.

Cover with foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 minutes more until cheese is bubbling. Let rest 15 minutes before serving. 

TO MAKE THE FRICO:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Grate 1 cup of good quality parmesan (or any cheese you like). Don't use the pre-grated or pre-shredded cheese. It takes only a few minutes to grate the cheese yourself and the end result is much better. On a baking sheet drop about 2 Tbsp. of cheese and press with the bake of the spoon to flatten to roughly 3 inches. Space at least 1 inch apart as they will spread. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until cheese melts and they are golden. Check on them to make sure they are not getting too brown. Remove from oven and let the Frico cool completely before removing from the pan. I served the Frico pressed into the lasagna to fancy it up a bit!

THAT'S IT FOR TODAY!

OFF TO IRELAND FOR THE SUMMER!

ROUNDSTONE-
One of my favorite villages west of us!

www.cookwithcindy.com