Cabbage and Walnuts

It’s been a while since I could really get back in to my messy kitchen adventures. My new kitchen has taken some getting used to, and I seem to have moved into it (and the rest of the house) in the slowest, most unorganized fashion possible. Well, that seems to all be behind me at last and I’m finally back trying new things in the kitchen, messing up my apron with all kinds of stuff. This time it was a warm walnut vinaigrette with butter and mustard that I poured over some wilted Savoy cabbage.

I’d like to tell you that I used Savoy cabbage because the leaves are tender, easy to slice, and just need a few minutes in the pan to get nicely wilted, allowing for a fast and pretty easy side dish. Sure, all of those things are true, and I’d like to appear all selective and brainy about my vegetable dishes. It’s just that I used this particular kind of cabbage because that’s what I happened to have. (That’s kind of how things go when you subscribe to a CSA that has great fall vegetables.) It really has nothing to do with me that it was a great tool for the job.

The idea for this dish came from Bon Appetit magazine (the October 2011 issue), which had a recipe for Brussels sprouts with a vinaigrette like this one. I knew I wasn’t going to go out looking for Brussels sprouts when I probably had cabbage waiting in a box for me, and the Savoy turned out to be just the right thing. I think a napa cabbage might work similarly, since it also has more tender leaves, just a bit firmer than romaine lettuce. I certainly wouldn’t turn my nose up at a regular green cabbage, but might cook it a bit longer to get a similar wilted texture, or select the floppier leaves and save the crunchier ones and the thicker ribs for slaw.

I happened to have a particularly fresh and sweet Savoy cabbage, and it went wonderfully with the delicate walnut flavor in the vinaigrette. The dish also gets plenty of tanginess from the vinegar and mustard. I used a homemade Moscato wine vinegar (yeah, I’m into that kind of thing), but you could use whatever white wine or champagne vinegar you like, or probably even cider vinegar.

I’ve made a lot of slaws to go with all kinds of meals, but wilting the cabbage and drenching it in a warm, buttery, nutty dressing makes a more comforting dish as the nights get colder. And since this one is pretty quick, you can easily serve it alongside dishes that require more of your time and attention. I served it with pork chops, applesauce, and roasted vegetables and it played along very nicely, making a hearty, flavorful fall supper.

Wilted Savoy Cabbage with Warm Walnut-Butter Vinaigrette
Based on a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine

2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons walnut oil
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon or whole grain mustard
½ large head Savoy cabbage, thinly sliced, about 6 cups
½ teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1. In a small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the walnut oil and walnuts. Cook and stir until the walnuts are lightly browned and fragrant. This will take 3-4 minutes, but watch carefully. You do not want the walnuts to burn.

2. Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the vinegar and mustard until smooth. Be particularly careful when adding the vinegar. It may spatter and steam. Keep warm.

3. In a large skillet, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the cabbage and salt. Cook and stir until just wilted, about 3 minutes.

4. Pour the warm vinaigrette over the wilted cabbage and stir to coat evenly. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest. Serve warm.

Makes 4-6 side dish servings.

Other recipes like this one: Sauteed Cabbage with Caraway and Cider Vinegar, Spaetzle with Cabbage, Bacon and Onions (one of my most popular posts)

One year ago: Winter Squash and Onion Curry with Yogurt Sauce

Two years ago: Tomato and Beef Stir Fry

Fall Colors

Although the weather got downright hot recently, initiating a revival of the herbs, flowers and cherry tomatoes in the container garden on our patio, autumn has settled into southeastern Minnesota. Harry and I went back to nearby Great River Bluffs State Park, where we went camping this summer, to view its scenes in the full color of this season. I’ve been fortunate enough to live most of my life in places that look like this in October, and I try to celebrate it and not take it for granted.

And what better way to celebrate something than to create a meal, or at least a dish, in its honor. Since the abundance of late-season harvest is also in full force and full color, I used those vegetables (most of them from our CSA) to make a salad reminiscent of that autumn afternoon spent hiking in that bright and sunny (and unseasonably warm) grandeur. There was a clipped recipe for a shaved vegetable salad with apple vinaigrette around here somewhere and that provided additional inspiration for this dish.

I used a combination of sweet and zingy vegetables and an apple to make this salad. I had red daikon and black (they’re creamy white on the inside) radishes to fill in the stronger end of the spectrum. Purple, orange and white carrots as well as part of a carnival squash balanced the zesty radishes with their sweetness. The vinaigrette, which contained a little fresh-pressed apple cider along with cider vinegar, helped bridge the gap between the contrasting vegetable flavors and bring them together. The sage with which I infused olive oil for the dressing lent and earthy background flavor that complimented the fall vegetables and apples so well.

It is important to either shave the vegetables thinly with a vegetable peeler or with a mandolin or similar tool. (You can cut them with a sharp knife if you’re more skilled than I am.) The strips need to be delicate and easily chewable, and I found that the squash, while quite tasty raw, is especially crunchy, and is best cut or shaved very, very thinly. I shaved the carrots with a peeler and used the thinnest setting on a V-Slicer for the other vegetables, and then cut the round pieces into strips.

If one takes a bit of time to prepare the vegetables for this salad so that the strips are elegant and uniform, the result is not only delicious, but also very pretty. I suppose it is also possible that if one used only the simplest of tools to slowly and mindfully shave the bitter and sweet vegetables into long, delicate strips symbolic of summer’s long, bittersweet descent into winter, one might achieve enlightenment. With views like this, however, one may have all the enlightenment one can handle.

Note: Harry took most of the photos of the fall colors in Great River Bluffs State Park

Shaved Vegetable Salad with Cider-Sage Vinaigrette
Based on a recipe in Cooking Light magazine.

Use a good blend of sweet and bitter or spicy vegetables for best results. I used apple, winter squash (be sure to shave very thinly), carrots, and radishes (red daikon and black). Other good additions might include rutabaga, turnip, and kohlrabi.

3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra virgin olive oil
about 10 large fresh sage leaves
about 4 cups (1 liter) shaved (with a vegetable peeler) or thinly sliced (with a mandolin) apples, root vegetables and winter squash (Peel the vegetables first. It is not necessary to peel the apple, but do remove the core.)
¼ cup (about 60 ml) thinly sliced red onion
2 tablespoons (30 ml) cider vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) coarse salt, divided

1. In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and let them sizzle for 1-2 minutes, or until they appear very slightly shriveled and crispy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. (You can prepare the vegetables while the oil cools.)

2. When the oil has cooled, remove the sage leaves. Chop or crumble them and set aside. Place the infused oil in a small bowl. Add the cider vinegar, cider and ¼ teaspoon (a little more than 1 ml) salt. Whisk vigorously until well combined.

3. Place the shaved vegetables and apple and the sliced red onion in a large bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Sprinkle on the remaining salt as well. Toss well to coat the vegetables with the dressing. Sprinkle the crumbled sage leaves over the salad.

Makes 4-6 servings. Leftovers can be kept chilled for a few days.

Other recipes like this one: Crunchy Cabbage, Cauliflower and Apple Salad, Red Cabbage Slaw with Apples and Cranberries, Broccoli Stem and Kohlrabi Slaw

One year ago: Quinoa Stuffed Squash