Tag Archives: cabbage recipe

Napa Cabbage — Your New Best Veggie Friend

Posted on by 5 comments
An easy and fast side dish to any Asian-inspired spread.
An easy and fast side dish to any Asian-inspired spread.

You want a best friend whom you can count on.

One who has lasting qualities.

One who rises to any occasion.

In short, in the world of vegetables, you want napa cabbage.

Crisp, sweet, slightly mustardy, super versatile, and able to last weeks in the fridge, it’s what you can loyally turn to time and time again.

I love it shredded raw in salads, roasted in the oven, steamed gently, and stir-fried as in this recipe for “Sour and Hot Napa Cabbage (Suan La Bai Cai).”

It’s a fast and easy side dish recipe that first appeared in the March/April 2023 issue of Cook’s Illustrated.

It’s based on a favorite dish from a local Sichuan restaurant that the staffers of the magazine frequented before it closed.

Read more

Hearty Ethiopian Cabbage Stew

Posted on by Leave a comment
Start the new year with a taste bud journey to Ethiopia with this easy cabbage stew.
Start the new year with a taste bud journey to Ethiopia with this easy cabbage stew.

Start the new year off virtuously with loads of good-for-you veggies.

That’s easy to do with this simple and robust dish of “Ethiopian Cabbage Stew.”

It’s from the cookbook, “Enebla” (Touchwood, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Luladey Moges, who was born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and now makes her home in Los Angeles.

It’s a collection of more than 60 recipes that Moges has made her own, after learning how to cook from her mother, grandmother, and aunts. They include dishes such as “Ethiopian Porridge” made spicy an nourishing with berbere and barley flour; the well-known “Kitfo” or beef tartare; “Lamb Broth Stew,” and a Napolean-like “Ethiopian Millefoglie Cake.”

Read more

Purple Reigns

Posted on by 5 comments
Chef Eric Ripert turns everyday cabbage into something special.
Chef Eric Ripert turns everyday cabbage into something special.

Leave it to Chef Eric Ripert to turn purple cabbage from pauper to prince.

Yes, in the hands of this gifted Michelin three-starred chef, this lowly veg shines as royalty on the plate.

“Soy-Glazed Red Cabbage” is one of the star recipes in his newest cookbook, “Vegetable Simple” (Random House), of which I received a review copy.

As the long-time chef and co-owner of the venerable Le Bernardin in New York, Ripert has honed the magic touch with seafood. Now, he applies that same exquisite care to vegetables in recipes that are truly simple. In fact, most of them call for just a handful of ingredients along with three to six paragraphs of directions.

You will salivate without feeling the least bit intimidated when you come across recipes such as “End of Summer Tomato ‘Tea’,” Warm Potato, Goat Cheese Parfaits,” “Curried Brussels Sprouts,” and “Corn Cake, Blueberry Compote.”

Wedges of purple cabbage cook in a saute pan on the stove-top with a little water and butter, like making glazed carrots. OK, maybe more than a little butter; more like half a stick. But hey, you can’t fault a Frenchman for that.

Read more