Adding one ingredient to cabbage will completely ‘bring it to life’
Cabbage can make for a tasty addition to a roast dinner, but the correct preparation is key if you’re to avoid ending up with a bland side dish.
Writing for the Express, senior lifestyle reporter Angela Patrone said: “Cabbage used to be one of those vegetables that always seemed to taste bland to me when cooking it, no matter how much I seasoned it. I only really had it if I was whipping up a coleslaw or adding a few leaves to a minestrone soup.”
But after finding Erin Carter’s sautéed cabbage recipe on her Well Plated blog, she realised she simply needed to alter her cooking method and not overlook one crucial ingredient.
Erin described the dish as “love at first bite”, and with it requiring less than 20 minutes to prepare, Angela was keen to test it out.
“Not only did the cabbage taste better after sautéing it in butter and oil, but the flavour really came out after adding apple cider vinegar once the cabbage was cooked, as she recommended,” Angela said.
“Sautéing cabbage adds a special flavour and texture you can’t achieve with boiling or steaming.”
Erin highlighted that apple cider vinegar will “completely transform this sautéed cabbage and bring it to life” – and Angela said she couldn’t agree more, adding that while it was delicious straight after being cooked, it tasted even better after she incorporated the vinegar.
“Beautifully tender and caramelised, it tasted similar to roasted cabbage, but it’s so much quicker to cook,” she said. “This is one simple side dish recipe you’ll make again and again – I’ve made it three times in the past five days.”
Angela reduced the ingredients in Erin’s recipe by half as she only wanted to create three servings, but the ingredients listed below make for six portions.
Ingredients
- One small head of green cabbage
- One tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- One tablespoon of butter
- Salt
- Pepper
- Half a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, plus extra to taste
Method
Angela began by halving the cabbage from top to bottom, right through its core. She stored one half in the fridge and placed the other half, cut-side down, on the chopping board. Then, she sliced it as finely as possible around the core to create thin ribbons, discarding the core afterwards.
Next, she heated a deep frying pan over medium-high heat and added the olive oil and butter. Once the butter had melted, she tossed in the cabbage, salt, and pepper.
Angela sautéed the cabbage for about 10 to 15 minutes, giving it an occasional stir until it was tender and starting to brown – 10 minutes seemed just right.
There’s no need to constantly stir it. Letting the cabbage sit undisturbed for a minute or two here and there allows it to develop brown caramelised bits, which enhance the flavour.
Once the cabbage was soft and caramelised, she took the pan off the heat and stirred in the apple cider vinegar. She was quite fond of the vinegar taste, but decided to add a bit more for an extra zingy kick.