Courage in the Kitchen

Last week I used some of the green cabbage I bought at the Farmer’s Market the previous Saturday to make John’s Haluski. There were some beautiful red cabbages for sale that also tempted me, but Jerri’s observation that “We can only eat so much” killed that impulse before I even picked up the particularly good-looking head that had caught my eye.

But seeing that red cabbage got me thinking about a weekend we spent in Washington, DC with Gunther and Isolde, our friends from West Germany, when I was a student at the University of Virginia and Jerri was teaching high school in Charlottesville. Gunther was working on a doctorate in economics and had a fellowship in Washington.

Like most Germans from that era, they liked to walk. We were young then and managed to keep up as they guided us through the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art and on trails along the Potomac River. They were neat people who enjoyed good wines and good food. Gunther picked out the wines and Isolde was a gourmet cook.

Isolde’s red cabbage is the best I have ever tasted, and Jerri does a great job with it. This recipe complements any roast, but it is especially good with pork. It’s easy to make, inexpensive and delicious any time you can find a good head of red cabbage. But it is also a festive dish that will make your holiday dinner special.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. of red cabbage (1 medium head)
2 T of butter or oil
1 medium onion (about 2” in diameter)
1 cup of apple cider
3 or 4 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
3 or 4 cloves
2 or 3 T sugar
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. salt to taste

PROCEDURE:

Prepare the cabbage by removing any wilted outer leaves and the stem. Wash it thoroughly and chop it, but not too finely. Remove the outer layers from the onion and chop it fine. Heat the butter or oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion a minute or two until it is transparent. Add the chopped cabbage and allow it to cook a few minutes uncovered.

Add the apple cider, vinegar, bay leaf, cloves, sugar and salt. Stir and cover. Turn down the heat and allow the cabbage to simmer for 70 to 90 minutes. Properly done, the cabbage will be soft but not mushy.

This is a side dish that you can prepare a day in advance, if you wish, or serve it proudly as a leftover, for as Isolde wrote at the end of her recipe: “Der Kohl schmeckt besonders gut, wenn er aufgewärmt ist.” Or, “The cabbage tastes especially good when it is warmed up again.”

When John first described this recipe to me, I was a bit sceptical. I like cabbage, I like noodles. But together? After making his recipe for Haluski, the answer is a resounding YES!

Haluski is a dish that originated in eastern Europe. There are versions from Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Hungary and Romania–all places where cabbage grows well and people like dumplings and noodles. Since my grandfather Rang grew up in northern Germany where people like both, he probably ate something similar to haluski, though his mother may have called it something like “Speck mit Kraut und Spaetzle.”

As is the case with most dishes created by housewives needing to feed their families on limited budgets, there are many different haluski recipes that use ingredients available in different regions. All, however, use cabbage and noodles as the two main ingredients. John started with a recipe from the food channel and modified it to make it more pleasing to the eye and tastebuds.

The result is a one dish meal that you really should try. Like me, you may put it on your “Make it again” list.

The quantities below will make four to six servings.

INGREDIENTS:

1 green cabbage, about 6 inches in diameter
1/2 stick butter
1 large onion, about 4 inches in diameter
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 lb. bacon
1/2 lb. cooked ham
8 oz. wide egg noodles
1 small sweet yellow banana pepper
1/4 red bell pepper
1/4 green bell pepper
1/2- 3/4 cup chicken broth
1 T white vinegar
2 T water
1 teaspoon black pepper
Grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

PROCEDURE:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While the water is coming to the boil, wash the cabbage head, removing any bad outer leaves. Cut the top and bottom off the onion and remove the outer husk. Wash the peppers. Cut off the stems, cut the peppers in half and remove the white membrane and seeds.

When the water comes to the boil, put the cabbage into the pot and cook it until crisp tender, about five to eight minutes. Remove the cabbage head to a colander to drain and cool. Reserve the hot water for cooking the noodles. When the head is cool enough to handle, remove the core and cut the cabbage into half inch slices. You should have five to six cups of cabbage.

While the cabbage is cooking and cooling, julienne the onion and peppers. Julienne means to cut the food into thin strips. To Julienne an onion, cut it in half from top to bottom, put the cut side down on a cutting board and slice parallel to the grain. Cut the peppers into strips about 1/8 inch wide and 2 inches long. You should have about two cups of onion and a total of about 3/4 cup of the peppers.

Cut the bacon and ham into half inch pieces. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet and fry the bacon over medium heat until it begins to crisp. Add the ham and fry until it begins to brown, about 2 minutes.

Remove the meat from the pan, add three more tablespoons of butter and the onions. Sprinkle on about 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook the onions about ten minutes over low heat, stirring often.

Stir in the cabbage and raise the heat to medium or medium high. Stir every minute until the onions and cabbage start to caramelize. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. Add the julienned peppers and cook for one or two minutes. Remove the pan from the heat if the noodles are not ready.

While the onion and cabbage are cooking, heat the water in the large pot to boiling. When the water is at a full boil, add a teaspoon of salt and the noodles and cook to al dente (about five or six minutes). Drain them in a colander and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.

Put the onion and cabbage mixture into the large pot. Place the pot over low to medium heat. Deglaze the skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon of white vinegar and two tablespoons of water and pour the liquid into the large pot.

Add the meat and noodles, chicken broth, the remaining garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Mix well and let the haluski cook for 5 more minutes or so to blend the flavors. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle lightly with the grated cheese and offer more at the table.

Serve with bread, salad and a glass of good beer for a satisfying and tasty dinner.

NOTES: Do not overcook the noodles! They will continue cooking after the other ingredients are added when you assemble the dish. John uses garlic salt instead of powdered garlic and regular salt. You can deglaze the pan with a quarter cup of dry white wine. I used instant chicken bouillon to make the broth. Feel free to customize this recipe after you have made it once or twice.

If you don’t like peppers, leave them out or substitute a carrot. If you don’t have ham, use kielbasa. If you think a little parsley sprinkled on top would add to the dish, try it. Have fun!