Thursday, April 23, 2009

A veggie surprise

Holy crap, you guys. I forgot about the Universal Rule of Bacon!

The cabbage recipe I was so worried about was actually fantastic. I served it atop a plate of quinoa with a parsley garnish. Despite its rather gloppy purple appearance, it was delicious. That cabbagey taste is mellowed out by the sweetness of the carrots and the beer, and as we all know, bacon makes everything better. Here is the recipe, courtesy of Blue Moon Organics:

GABRIEL'S BRAISED CABBAGE

2 Tbsp. good quality olive oil
2 medium onions cut in half and sliced (I used just one)
1/2 lb bacon, pancetta or tasso ham, medium dice
1 head cabbage halved and julienned (I used three small heads of red cabbage)
2 carrots scrubbed and cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup good Dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup whiskey or 1 can quality beer
1/2 cup chicken or veggie stock
1 bunch chives, chopped
2 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat tablespoon of oil over medium heat and render pork until it's crispy, about 10 minutes. Pull out pork product, blot with a towel and reserve.

Cook onions in pork fat until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add cabbage, carrots and mustard and stir. Add vinegar and beer or whiskey and let it cook off for a couple minutes. Add stock and reduce until liquid is almost vacant. Fold in pork.

Serve warm on top of a starch in a bowl (polenta, risotto, quinoa or potatoes would be great) and garnish with chives and parsley.



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