As per the request of one of our readers, I am doing a post about the renowned, "Cabbage Meal". Sounds intimidating, I know. =) However, it is not that intimidating; on the contrary, it's delicious, fun to make, eat and think about, and it's using some of that wonderful purple cabbage that is just bursting with antioxidants! I know, I just sounded like some certain persons that are a bit farther ahead on the road of life than we are and are always trying to make us eat healthy things. Alas, for that I am thankful, that I have been taught in such good ways--and it's always extra nice when the meal/dish/thing, tastes good. And that's exactly what this meal is; healthy AND tasty! Can I get three cheers or something?
Enough about that, lets start talking about this meals origins. We all have our roots, and this meals heritage is one that I am particularly fond of.
Long, long ago, (about 10 years ago) in an Italian/German kitchen, a faithful husband and loving father laboriously put his very being into this dish as he looked at his ever smiling wife and the three sets of big, brown eyes that belonged to his dear children. He wanted to create something marvelous that would feed his family for years to come. He started out small--with things he knew would go well, then with bursts of inspiration added more and more. Over the years this concoction turned into a meal to be proud of, the support of his family and the tender care put into this dish could be noticed with every magnificent bite. When the man was ready to introduce this dish to someone outside of the family, he knew just who it would be; none other then the endearing friends that had watched from the background as this meal unfolded into its masterpiece. Well, they loved it! Soon he was teaching his dear friends the process and the little ones how to cut vegetables properly. Though it was never named, the two families always knew what meal they were talking about when they said, "Come on over to our house after church and we can make The Dish," or, "How about you bring some pesto to contribute to Our Meal," and other variants such as "The Cabbage Thing" or simply "The Cabbage". Since the families loved it so much, they gradually started sharing it with other people, however it has never made a full, public appearance.... that is, until now.
Now, without any further ado, let us begin.
As you can see, I've pretty much photographed each step-well, er, most of them. I left out shredding the carrots, cutting tomatoes, making the sauce or seasoning as we call it, but that is what recipes are for, no?
Speaking of recipes.....this is not your um, average recipe. There are really, uh, well, no measurements. I wouldn't recommend this dish to someone that is a must-measure-everything-out freak, or to people that have no taste buds. But if you have no taste buds then what's the point of eating? Moving on, I shall simply give you the roughest form of calculations/measurements that I can, but please keep in mind! This is a meal that you adjust to YOUR personal tastes, desires, etc. If you don't like black olives, than don't add them, if you adore black olives use 10 cans of them! But not just like that, amount of cooking time too, if you like your veggies soft-cook them more, if not, well, I think you get the idea.
Ingredients:
Note: This can well feed 20 or more people...so you might want to cut down on the amounts. ;)
Main Veggies:
3 purple cabbages
2 1/2 lbs of carrots
6 medium sized tomatoes
3 large red and green bell peppers
Red wine (A few splashes)
Sauce/Seasoning:
1 to 2 cans black olives
1-2 lbs (or 16-24 oz) feta cheese
Two 8 oz jars of pesto
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
freshly shredded basil
Olive oil....about 1/2 cup I'd say, but there can never be too much, especially when you're with Italians.
1 tablespoon or so of red wine
Extra/optional:
Two or three 8 oz boxes pasta (your favorite brand/style). The pasta was added in so that the kids would enjoy it more. It also adds to the meal but most of the adults just eat the veggies.
Working in the Kitchen:
1. Heat up 3 large electric skillets with olive oil.
2. Chop the cabbages, shred carrots, dice the tomatoes and peppers, and slice the olives.
3. Using salad tongs/tossers and a large, large bowl, mix together the cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and peppers.
4. Evenly divide the veggies into the skillets and pour in some red wine. As it cooks, keep an eye on the temperature, making sure to turn with a spatula or wooden spoon.
5. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix the olives, pesto, oregano, pepper, and basil together. Add the olive oil, red wine, and feta. Set aside.
6. This is the tricky part. How long do you cook the veggies? Well, I've never timed it though it seems to take about 40 minutes or so. When we think it's done we collect a few of the always watching by-standers and ask them what they think. (The proper way to test it is to taste a piece of cabbage or pepper (the two hardest veggies) and if you think it's soft enough, great! If not, continue cooking, always being sure to stir often.
7. About 15 minutes before the veggies are done, start boiling some water for the pasta. Follow the cooking directions on the box.
8. Once the pasta is drained and the veggies done, distribute equal amounts of the seasoning to the veggies and mix well. We normally set aside a small bowl of the seasoning and put that in the pasta. As I said before, most of the adults eat just the veggies, you could mix the veggies in with the pasta but we leave them separate and the kids can put however many vegetables they want on top of the pasta.
9. Get that stuff on a plate and eat! It is nice to have some extra pepper and feta to put on the finished product as an added, "Mmm."
This is a really, very enjoyable meal. The best part for me, (besides the eating), is making it together, bringing everyone into the kitchen, or at least near by where they can watch. Being able to sit down and eat it, knowing that you all helped out, contributed in some way to make something so divine, is simply wonderful.
And that, I believe, is the true beauty of cooking... being together. In all your cooking and baking my friends, don't forget that.
May you enjoy the fruits of your labors and have fun while doing it. :)
Love, Maryah W.
