Noodles With Cabbage! Noodles WIth Cabbage!

Last Friday was a fun day.

After dancing like a hippie to Jesus Christ Superstar, I built up a crazy appetite and decided it was time to make something special and new for dinner.

I wanted something casserole-y, hearty, creamy/comforting, but didn't want to break the bank OR use my oven - which sets the smoke alarm off every time I use it. After toying with a tasty looking cream and tomato pasta sauce, I flipped through my Beard On Pasta book and found a glorious creature titled "Noodles With Cabbage".

NOODLES WITH CABBAAAAAGE!!!!??? *pop*pop*pop* went the hearts in my eyes.

A simple, yet unique and comforting meal made of soft sauteed cabbage and cream. I had planned to add ground beef too so I was very excited indeed!



You can make this dish with any noodle of course, or even dumplings, but I opted for good old fashioned "egg noodles" so I highly recommend those. They were thick and chewy enough to compliment the big pieces of cabbage and the creamy cream.




It's so fun to cook cabbage but beware, I "blacked" (not browned) my cabbage TWICE. Oops. So BE CAREFUL that you keep an eye on it as it gets soft in those last minutes before you add the cream.

I cut the recipe way down - this one is for 6-8 servings.

NOODLES WITH CABBAGE -From "Beard On Pasta" by James Beard

One 2-3 pound cabbage (I used plain green cabbage, it's so sweet and slightly bitter when cooked. Perfect.)
5 tablespoons butter or bacon fat
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup light cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound noodles

Put the cabbage through the slicing blade of the food processor (or just chop that shit up, yo). Melt the butter or bacon fat in a large skillet and saute the cabbage until it is lightly browned. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Sprinkle on the flour and continue to cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Then add the cream, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thickened.
Cook the noodles. Drain them, add them to the pot, and let everything bubble together for a few minutes to blend the flavors.

That's it! How easy is that?! Like a casserole without having to bake.

I agree with James Beard that it would be a great meal to have with a glass of beer .

My suggested additions:
*Ground beef - cooked with onions - simple but hearty addition
*Dill - when I had my leftovers the next day I sprinkled some dill over the noodles and holy lord it was a beautiful pairing.
*Mushrooms - I didn't try this but I can easily see some chopped, sauteed mushrooms being a great compliment to this dish as well.

Bon Appetit! Sherman wants some too.