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...

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