Braised cabbage

Braised cabbage makes me think of my dad and maternal grandmother.  My dad loves it and I remember my grandmother making it with cabbage from her garden.  I didn't come to appreciate cabbage until pretty recently...sometime in the last 5 years or so.

One of the four things that factored into my sudden love for cabbage: learning how to make my own stock and realizing how perfectly suited stock and cabbage are.  (The other three things: Jamie's mom's Cole slaw recipe, how inexpensive cabbage is, and how faithfully fresh it will remain in the crisper for a long time.)

Today's version is made with a red cabbage I bought last week, intended for a dish that did not get made.  I have a slight preference for green cabbage (and do like Savoy cabbage, too, though I think of that as a special occasion cabbage :-) and my family associations are with the green stuff.

Today's beef "stock" is not a true stock.  It's the braising liquid from a short ribs meal I made ages ago.  The braising liquid has lots of beef essence, garlic and ginger in it.  And it's been waiting patiently in the freezer for a very long time to be loved and appreciated.

Heat oil in sautéish pan.  My pan is not a sauté pan, I don't know what you'd call it.  It's wide and flat and has sides that come straight up a few inches.  And two fat handles.  I bought it at TJ Maxx or Marshall's a long time ago, before I knew what I was doing, really, but knew that I wanted to begin the journey of slowly replacing our non-stick pans with stainless that did not have non-stick coating on them.  This pan came with a lid which comes in handy.  I love this pan.  (I think it's All-Clad.)

Also, I used safflower oil.  But, you should use whatever oil you want and see how it tastes.  Safflower is good for high heat and being on the more flavorless side.  (I'm not sold on canola oil.)

Add an onion to the heated oil/pan.  I like to slice mine thinly, in "half moons" (halve the onion and then slice lengthwise).

Remove the outermost leaves and chop up the cabbage.  I used just about the whole head today.  See how much room you have in your pan.  Keep in mind that the cabbage will cook down somewhat.

Add the cabbage to the onions which should be quite soft by now.  Stir and stir.  Let cook for a few minutes on medium-high heat.

Add the stock.  Beef, chicken, veggie, whatever you have.  Even water (if I were using water I would season the cabbage with salt and pepper).  Fill the pan so there's an inch or two of liquid.

Clearly, this is not an exact measurement type of recipe :-)

Turn up heat to get the braising liquid bubbling.  Cover loosely, turn heat down to medium-low and cook at a low bubbling for 10 minutes or so.  

Periodically check to make sure the liquid doesn't evaporate during cooking.  Check the texture or "bite" of the cabbage.  If you want it crunchier, you want less time, if you want it softer, increase the time.

To slow down the cooking towards the end to better fine tune the "bite" of the cabbage, turn heat down further, or better yet, "loosen" the lid even more so more steam gets out.

This dish is good hot, warm, at room temperature, or cold.  It's all about your taste and mood.  I've had it as a side, with rice and on toast with, everyone all together now, mayo.  :-)