Cabbage Days – Make the Most of Them

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SAN MIGUEL COUNTY, CO—Oct. 12, 2019—These are the busy cabbage days of fall. At night around here the cold descends into the mid-teens and lays its killing frost on whatever tender, leafy vegetables are left in the garden. (Cue witch’s cackle!) Although cabbage is hardly tender, before the predicted 15 degrees Fahrenheit set in last night, John dutifully set out to hack at the “decorative” planting of cabbage. Just steps from the door, wielding a camp saw, he harvested the two remaining cabbages from along the walkway. Thanks, babe! Where there were once 4 cabbages and a broccoli plant there are just empty, soil-filled towers that once surrounded them. Time to turn the soil back into the garden and add the wood to the pile for burning this winter.

But what to do with all the cabbage bounty? How much coleslaw or sauerkraut can one human make or eat with a happy face? We are not sailors on Captain Cook’s ships, after all…

Today I will share one of my favorite things to do with cabbage. This is not by far the last cabbage recipe I will share with you (some cheering; some booing) but it might well be considered the best cabbage recipe by picky children, gourmand adults and the hungry people that fill our lives! It serves as a simply delicious side dish to dinner and is good enough to add to a party buffet to impress others with your cooking chops. Pork chops, that is!

Love My Lille Cabbage!

But it’s only Lille Cabbage, and it’s easy and quick to prepare. It pairs beautifully with roast pork or a plate of pork chops with a quick mustard sauce made in the same pan just after the chops depart, apple sauce, and served with floury boiled and buttery, parsleyed potatoes. Ahhh…..yum!

Lille cabbage must appeal to the Midwestern American German in me that Ancestry.com has found on my mother’s side. But it will greatly appeal to you, whoever you are, wherever you are, on a cold night!

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Cabbage Days – Make the Most of Them and if nd out about Lille, France and another Lille Cabbage recipe here.

Lille Cabbage

Serves 8

• One, large 2-pound cabbage, outer leaves removed, rinsed, quartered, cored and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• One, large sweet onion, chopped
• Two garlic cloves, chopped
• One tablespoon vinegar or white wine vinegar (whatever you have on hand)
• 1/2 cup white wine or beer (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and buttter in large enamel pan or Dutch oven. Add onions and cook until translucent add garlic and cook one minute.

Add cabbage, white wine or beer, and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Cook uncovered stirring frequently for 15 to 20 minutes. When cooking is complete, cabbage should be slightly crunchy.

Quick Ideas for Lille Cabbage Leftovers

• Reheat cabbage and just before serving stir in a Mornay Sauce.
• Make a delicious and hearty soup with your leftover Lille Cabbage by puréeing your leftover Lille Cabbage in a blender, slowly adding beef broth, reheating and adding cream or milk and butter to finish it.

Other Cabbage Recipe Favorites

Minestrone Soup

Black Bean Tacos, Cabbage Slaw and Eggs

Sarmale – Stuffed Cabbage the Romanian Way

Pupusas – The Hand Pie of El Salvador

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