Fresh Cabbage Fritters

  • I have lots of recipes for vegetable fritters/pancakes including one for sauekraut.
  • This one uses a whole cabbage head – this is good if it is a small cabbage.
  • Otherwise I think ½ a head is better.
  • You could use a sweetheart cabbage.
  • Next time I would chop the cabbage into smaller pieces.

INGREDIENTS

  • Whole small white cabbage
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Butter for frying
  • 100g plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes – optional
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying.

METHOD

  • Chop the white cabbage into small pieces.
  • Cook in salted water for around 20 minutes.
  • Drain and pat dry.
  • Leave to cool.
  • You may want to chop the pieces even smaller.
  • Dice the onion and chop the garlic.
  • Fry in butter till golden.
  • Leave till cool.
  • Mix the cabbage and onion mix together.
  • Mix together with the flour, salt and flour.
  • Beaten the eggs and mix everything together.
  • Stir in the chilli flakes.
  • *
  • Make little patties.
  • Fry in sunflower oil for around 4 minutes on each side.
  • Taking care not to burn them.

They taste good with a fried egg or two.

Eat Your Greens – 2

  • This is a lovely recipe for vegetables to eat with a roast dinner or breaded pork.
  • It is a variation on Eat Your Greens – 1.
  • In this recipe cavolo nero is used rather than white cabbage.
  • As this takes longer to cook – it is part steamed first.
  • The amounts are fairly fluid – does not matter to much.

Ingredients

    • 100g of cavolo nero

    • 1 large or 2 medium sized leek(s)

    • 120g of fresh spinach

    • 2 tablespoons of butter

    • 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Method

    • Cut the cavolo nero into fine pieces.

    • Steam this for around 10 minutes.

    • Cut the leek(s) into discs and then halve these.

    • Melt the butter in a large saucepan. (a wok style is good).

    • Stir fry the cavolo nero and leeks gently for around 5 – 8 minutes.

    • Stirring all the while – so they do not burn.

    • Add in the spinach and stir.

    • Cook for around 2 minutes.

    • Sprinkle with the salt and serve.

  • Option 
  • Kale could be used – this has not been tested.

Eat Your Greens – 1

  • This is a lovely recipe for vegetables to eat with a roast dinner or breaded pork.
  • It is a recipe that you have to make at the last minute – unlike a lot of Polish recipes for vegetables or salads.
  • The amounts are fairly fluid – does not matter too much.

Ingredients

  • ½ a sweetheart cabbage or white cabbage
  • 1 large or 2 medium sized leek(s)
  • 120g of fresh spinach
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Method

  • Shred the cabbage into fine pieces.
  • Cut the leek(s) into discs and then halve these.
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan. (a wok style is good).
  • Stir fry the cabbage and leeks gently for around 5 – 8 minutes.
  • Stirring all the while – so they do not burn.
  • Add in the spinach and stir.
  • Cook for around 2 minutes.
  • Sprinkle with the salt and serve.

 

Salad Dressing

  • This is a variation on a traditional salad dressing.
  • Mayonnaise is often used especially on cabbage salads (coleslaw).
  • I often mix in some Greek style yoghurt.
  • *
  • I was given this variation last week and it does add a nice little kick.
  • *
  • Equal Amounts of Mayonnaise: Greek Yoghurt: Cream of Horseradish Sauce.
  • *
  • 2  tablespoons of each should be more than enough for a whole shredded cabbage.
  • *
  • Full fat for both the mayonnaise and yoghurt is the best.
  • *
  • Not tested  – but I am sure this will go well with boiled potato salad.

Salads in Bavarian China

NOTE

  • The horseradish does become milder and losses it kick if left for a longer time eg overnight.
  • Best to add this dressing about an hour before the salads are needed so any fruits and nuts soften but the horseradish still has the kick. 

Lazy Goląbki – 2

  • I love goląbki – but must admit they are time consuming to make.
  • I came across this idea of using all the ingredients and making them into large kotlety( meatballs) cooking them in stock and then adding a tomato sauce.
  • They are called goląbki leniwe – lazy goląbki.
  • I made them with steamed cabbage as in  lazy goląbki – 1. 
  • Now I have  made kotlety with shredded fresh cabbage .
  • Here cooked rice is used as well.
  • No bread is added but semolina is used to help bind the ingredients.
  •  
  • This time I made them with fresh cabbage.

Ingredients

  • 500g minced beef
  • 100 – 150g boiled rice
  • ½  head of a small cabbage or a whole sweetheart cabbage
  • 2 egg – beaten
  • 1 teaspoons of salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • *
  • Semolina
  • Sunflower oil for lightly frying.
  • *
  • 750 ml vegetable stock
  • Several tablespoons of tomato purée 
  • *
  • Soured cream – optional

Method

  • Shred the cabbage and then chop into small pieces..
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM3 – 160°C
  • Mix the cabbage, meat and rice together until well mixed.
  • Add the beaten eggs.
  • Add the salt and pepper.
  • Mix everything together.
  • Add a little semolina if needed.
  • Using your hands make large oval shaped balls.
  • Roll then gently in the semolina.
  • *
  • Fry lightly on both sides.
  • Place tightly packed in a large roasting tin.
  • *
  • Mix the vegetable stock and tomato purée and pour over the goląbki.
  • Cover the dish with a sheet of baking foil.
  • Cook for around 2 hours.
  • *
  • Stir some soured cream into the sauce and serve.
  • *
  • TIP
  • I think it is best to make this the day before and then make up more vegetable stock and and tomato purée.
  • Pour this over the goląbki and heat again for at least an hour.
  • Add soured cream to the sauce and serve.
  • Option – not tested.

  • Add some grated cabbage to the mixture.

VERDICT

  • All my testers like the fresh cabbage version best.
  • These are meant to be lazy but they still required a lot of work.
  • Mixing the ingredients together took time.
  • I would find it easier to make my kotlety with cabbage  or even with sauerkraut and make them in tomato sauce and serve them with boiled rice.

Fresh Cabbage & Apples

  • I came across a Polish idea to cook white cabbage with apples.
  • The writer did not give a method nor did they say whether they made it sweet or tart.
  • I went for a slightly sweet version and I thought the result was delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1 sweetheart cabbage or a small white cabbage
  • 2 large Bramley apples
  • 500ml water
  • 2-3 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Method

  • Preheat the oven to GM 3 – 160°C.
  • Use a large oven proof dish with a lid.
  • Chop the cabbage into rough squares.
  • Peel and core the apples and chop these into chunks.
  • Mix the cabbage, apples and sugar together and put in the dish.
  • Add the water.
  • Cook for around 1 hour.
  • Keep an eye on this about half way through as the apples can fluff up and escape from the dish.
  • *
  • Serve with roast chicken, duck or pork.
  • *
  • You can add part of the sugar and add the rest to taste at the end.

  • Served in Bavarian china with a forget me knots pattern

Cabbage Carrot & Pear Salad

  • This is a variation on my usual cabbage salad.
  • Mayonnaise is not used just lemon juice as a dressing. 
  • Rather than apples I used pears for this salad.
  • Conference pears or other hard pears are good for this.
  • The pears need to be ripe but not too “mushy”.
  • I would peel the pears as the skins are often very tough.

Ingredients

  • ½ head of white cabbage
  • 3-4 hard pears
  • 2 carrots
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • *
  • Chopped flat leafed parsley or chives to serve

Method

  • Shred the cabbage into fine shreds.
  • Peel the pears and then coarse grate them.
  • Coarse grate the carrots.
  • Mix them all together.
  • Pour the lemon juice over them and mix.
  • Sprinkle with flat leaved parsley or chives.

Ukrainian Salad

  • I bought this jar of salad from my Polish shop.
  • It is Sałatka ukraińska – Ukrainian salad.
  • It was very good.
  • Good to have in as a standby.
  • I wanted to make a similar salad.
  • I looked this up and could not find a recipe similar with beetroots.
  • I noted down the ingredients written on the label.
  • Vinegar and sugar were used in the jar – I used lemon juice and honey.
  • The salad will come out differently each time if you change the proportions of the vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 3 medium boiled beetroots
  • 1 onion
  • ½ a small white cabbage or sweetheart cabbage
  • 1 large or 2 medium carrots
  • 1 red pepper
  • Juice from 2 lemons
  • 2 tablespoons of runny – honey 
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

  • Grate the beetroots using a coarse grater.
  • Chop the onion into fine pieces.
  • Shred the cabbage into fine strands.
  • Grate the carrot using a coarse grater
  • Chop the pepper into small pieces.
  • Mix all the vegetables together.
  • Mix the lemon juice and honey.
  • Mix the dressing with the vegetables
  • Season to taste.

Note

  • Tastes good straight away but can be kept in the fridge for several days as well.

Cabbage & Mushrooms

  • Cabbage and mushrooms are a classic combination in Polish cookery.
  • Recipes abound for combinations  using fresh cabbage through to sauerkraut, cultivated or wild mushrooms – fresh or dried – the list is endless.
  • Recently I wrote about kulebiak a large Polish pastry, which had a filling of fresh cabbage and fresh mushrooms.
  • This filling  can be served hot as a side dish – it goes well with hot roast meats.

Ingredients

  • Small head of white cabbage or sweetheart cabbage.
  • 250 -300g of mushrooms
  • 1 large onion
  • 100g of butter
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Optional – 2-3 hard boiled eggs

 

Method

  • Shred and then chop the cabbage into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
  • Melt half the butter in a large deep frying pan.
  • Slowly cook the onions and the cabbage but do not brown.
  • Cover with a lid and let them simmer till they are both soft.
  • Stir occasionally – you might need to add a little hot water.
  • In another pan melt the rest of the butter and fry the mushrooms.
  • Add the mushrooms to the cabbage and onion mixture and mix well.
  • Heat gently together to remove most of the excess liquid.
  • Season to taste.
  • Sprinkle the chopped hard boiled eggs on top – optional.
  • Serve hot.

Note

You might want to look at an earlier post for Sauerkraut & Mushrooms

 

 

Kulebiak with Cabbage & Mushrooms

  • Kulebiak is the nearest there is in Polish Cookery to a pie or a pasty.
  • It can be made with a yeast dough, a short crust type of pastry or puff pastry.
  • It is very much a large version of   paszteciki – the small savoury pastries,  which I posted in November 2019.
  • Popular fillings include cabbage & mushrooms of various sorts, hard boiled eggs and fish.
  • Many people serve this for Wigilia –  the Christmas Eve meal.
  • Sometimes the several fillings are put in as layers.
  • Here I have made it with a yeast dough with a fresh cabbage and fresh mushroom filling.
  • It is best served hot.
  • *
  • In the early part of the 20th century Auguste Escoffier, the French chef, wrote about this dish and called it Coulibiac.
  • Was this the start of dishes such as Salmon en croute?

Ingredients – Yeast Dough

  • 250g plain flour or a mixture of spelt & plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
  • 125-150ml of milk
  • 1 egg & 1 yolk
  • 40g butter – melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 egg white & water for a glaze

Method – Yeast Dough

  • Put 50g of the flour into a bowl.
  • Add the yeast and sugar.
  • Add enough of the milk to make the mixture as thick as double cream.
  • Leave in a warm place to bubble and froth up.
  • *
  • Place the rest of the flour into a bowl.
  • Add the salt and mix.
  • Lightly beat the whole egg  and the yolk together.
  • Add the egg mixture to the flour.
  • Add the yeast mixture to the flour.
  • Start to mix together using a wooden spoon.
  • Slowly add as much milk as needed.
  • Bring the dough together using your hands until it leaves the side of the bowl.
  • Knead the dough lightly until it is smooth.
  • *
  • Flatten the dough into a rectangle.
  • Slowly pour on the butter and fold over the dough.
  • Keep kneading the buttery dough until it is all incorporated.
  • Knead a little longer until you have a nice glossy ball.
  • Put the dough back into a bowl.
  • Cover with a cloth or a shower cap and leave to rise in a warm place.
  • *
  • Grease a baking tray.
  • Take the pastry and shape into a rough rectangle.
  • Roll out into a large rectangle around a finger width in thickness.
  • Place the cold filling in the centre lengthwise.
  • Fold the two long sides over the filling so the pastry just meets and is not too thick.
  • Fold over the short sides.
  • Turn the roll over so the “seams” are underneath.
  • Place on the baking tray, cover and leave to rise.
  • *
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM4 180 °C.
  • *
  • Lightly beat the egg white with a little water and brush this on the top.
  • Bake in the oven for around 1 hour.
  • *
  • Best served hot – but still good cold
  • Cut into thick slices to serve.

Ingredients – Filling

  • Small head of white cabbage or sweetheart cabbage.
  • 250g of mushrooms
  • 1 large onion
  • 100g of butter
  • 2 or more hard boiled eggs
  • Salt & pepper to taste

 

Method

  • Shred and then chop the cabbage into small pieces.
  • Chop the onion into small pieces.
  • Chop the mushrooms into small pieces.
  • Melt the half the butter in a large deep frying pan.
  • Slowly cook the onions and the cabbage but do not brown.
  • Cover with a lid and let them simmer till they are both soft.
  • Stir occasionally – you might need to add a little hot water.
  • In another pan melt the rest of the butter and fry the mushrooms.
  • Add the mushrooms to the cabbage and onion mixture and mix well.
  • Heat gently together to remove all the excess liquid.
  • Leave to go cold.
  • Rough chop the hard boiled eggs and add them to the mixture.
  • Season to taste.

Notethis might be more filling than you need – you can always freeze what is left 

Served on a vintage Pyrex platter and Royal Doulton – Carnation plates – 1982-98