Fried Cabbage with Bacon & Caraway
Originally from the 1986 cookbook, Jeff Smith Cooks with Wine, this is a great alternative to boiled cabbage for a St. Patrick's Day Irish Corned Beef dinner.
This is a revised recipe originally posted shortly after St. Patrick's Day in 2009. Not being fond of the traditional way of making corned beef and cabbage for the commemorative day of the patron saint of Ireland, I took a recipe from the Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith, and his 1986 cookbook, The Frugal Gourmet Cooks With Wine. Presumably, this cookbook by Smith was published prior to the time he allegedly started molesting his stage hands. At any rate, I have modified his recipe to bring in more bacon and more caraway flavor. And unlike Smith's version of leaving the bacon in for the entire cooking time, I chose to make it a topping after the fact.
Caraway seeds are generally sold whole so in order to grind them, you need to buy a coffee grinder that you use specifically for spices. Pulverize your caraway seeds in this coffee grinder and never, ever actually grind coffee in this particular appliance, but you can grind other spices as needed. Other than that particular chore, this really is a simple, easy way to take the cruciferous vegetable to new heights and other than Cole Slaw, I won't eat cabbage any other way.
Fried Cabbage with Bacon & Caraway
Ingredients
- 1 medium-sized head green cabbage, cored and sliced into shreds
- 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into lardons
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 large yellow or sweet onion, finely diced
- 3 tbsp caraway seeds, finely ground
- 1/2 cup chicken stock (like Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp seasoned pepper (like, Lawry's)
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven or large stock pot with a tight fitting lid over medium high heat.
- Sauté the bacon until crispy.
- Using a slotted spoon remove the bacon to drain on a paper towel, leaving the rendered bacon fat behind.
- Sauté the onion and garlic in the rendered fat until the onions begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
- Add the cabbage, caraway, chicken stock and wine.
- Cover the Dutch oven until the cabbage collapses, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook until the liquid has fully reduced, about another 10-15 minutes, stirring often. Cook until the cabbage is tender but crunchy. Don't overcook it.
- Top with the crispy bacon before serving.
