Sautéed Cabbage

Cabbage is one of those vegetables that doesn’t get as much respect as it deserves.  I would guess that the majority of cabbage consumed by the American population is in the form of coleslaw.  Second to that, it’s probably the little bits of purple cabbage that come in ready-to-eat bagged salad.  Of course, I didn’t actually conduct a study, so this is purely my conjecture based on my own experience and observations.

Anyway, I don’t like coleslaw or those purple bits.  In fact, I don’t really like raw cabbage at all.  It’s a texture thing.  Most of the foods I don’t like, it’s because of the texture:  raw cabbage, raw carrots, coconut, invertebrates.  But cook some cabbage, and I love it!

The only other recipe I’ve posted with cabbage was corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day.  In that case, the cabbage was slowly simmered/steamed in the slow cooker and took on the flavor of the corned beef.

Over the last few months I have taken to sautéing cabbage, sometimes with carrots.  The method is essentially the same as the one I posted about here.  You can also find the nutritional advantages to sautéing in that same post.  The main difference is that I use slightly less heat and let it go longer.  This prevents the cabbage leaves from drying out and burning and also develops some of the sugars.  I also add pepper, which really complements cabbage.

As to the nutritional quality of cabbage, it only has 22 Calories for each cup, chopped (raw).  It is also a good source of fiber and many vitamins and minerals.  You can find the breakdown here.

Even though I already did a sautéed vegetable post, I wanted to revisit it with cabbage.  I have a few recipes that use sautéed cabbage and so thought it deserved its own post.  Be sure to come back for those at a later time.

Sautéed Cabbage

1-2 Tbsp. olive or vegetable oil

1 head cabbage, quartered and cored

3-4 medium carrots, sliced (optional)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Slice cabbage quarters into strips.  Turn and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Add cabbage and carrots, if using, to heated oil.

It starts out as a lot...

Season with salt and pepper.  Sauté until tender and slightly golden, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

...but it cooks down a lot.

So yummy!!