Paddys Day - Give cabbage a chance

Paddys Day -  lets revisit Cabbage

 

One thing I have noticed when giving cookery classes is the amount of people who say they hate cabbage.   Irish mammies are great but they did have a tendency to cook the b’jaysus out of cabbage.  

The longer you cook cabbage the more sulfurous it becomes,  this is also the case with broccoli, cauliflower, kale and brussels sprouts amongst others.  The strong smell and soggy texture put  a lot of people off for life.  However lightly blanched or stir fried cabbage is delicious.    Hopefully this recipe for cabbage soup with Asian flavours might persuade you to give cabbage a second chance. As well as tasting delicious ,  its really quick to prepare and very cheap.  

Health wise its great for the liver,  in ancient Egypt they ate loads of cabbage in advance of drinking binges,  So if you are planning on spending your St Paddys day in the pub,  try a bowl of this before you head out.  The sulphur in cabbage is also great for healthy skin, hair and nails. So while cabbage itself might not win any beauty contests,  it might help you win one ;-)

This recipe is inspired by one from Dennis Cotter of Cafe Paradiso in Cork,  I came across it in one of my favourite vegetable cookbooks -  Sarah Ravens Garden Cookbook.  As usual I changed it a little bit,  I used spring onions instead of regular onions as I had some in the fridge to use up.  I also add 1/4 tsp of brown sugar at the end as I thought the asian flavours needed just a tweak to balance them completely.  Happy Paddys day Dxx

Savoy cabbage, spring onion and coriander soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

Large bunch of spring onions/scallions - finely chopped

½ savoy cabbage (about 300g) very finely shredded

1 tbsp olive oil
2 red finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
about 5cm fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
700ml good vegetable stock
400ml tin of coconut milk
bunch of fresh coriander, chopped - stalks n’all ( thats where all the flavour is)
juice of 2 limes

large pinch of palm/brown sugar (optional)
salt and black pepper

Method
1.Heat the oil in a pan, add the cabbage and onion and cook over a moderate heat for a couple of minutes,

2. Add the chillies, garlic, ginger and coriander seeds. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onion and cabbage are tender but still have a bite to them.

3.Add hot stock to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the coconut milk, half of the fresh coriander, the lime juice, the sugar and finally salt and pepper.

4. Sprinkle the rest of the coriander over the soup and serve