The Winter Kitchen: Cabbage

     I know that this is an odd subject to talk about, but I was reminded the other day when a vendor at the market opened a new tub of sauerkraut how awfully(good) it smelled. My first thought was of the classic dish, choucroute. Braised pork belly, sausages, onions, garlic, ham hocks and a nice German beer to wash it down.
     Cabbage whether you like it or not is one of the stables of a winter kitchen. This vegetable, which boasts a long culinary history, displays its green or red maturity in autumn and winter. When the weather is ruthlessly cold outside, it makes for a comforting vegetable from the kitchen garden.
     The Celts of central and western Europe had much to do with the distribution and popularization of cabbage as a food plant. Although the evidence points to the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor as the place of origin of the species, Celtic knowledge of it was so ancient as to have influenced the Latin name, Brassica (from the Celtic word bresic, meaning "cabbage"). Another way the  Irish saved civilization!! The Greeks and Romans ate cabbage to stave off the effects of too much alcohol. Cabbage was introduced to America in 1541-42 by Jacques Cartier, who planted it in Canada on his third voyage. Because of its popularity among Europeans, it was doubtless planted in what is now the United States by some of the earliest colonists, although there is no written record of it until 1669. In the 18th century it was being grown by American Indians as well as by the colonists.
     Cabbage is used the world round. Kimchi in Korea, saurkraut in Northern Europe, coleslaw in America just to name a few. Its uses and cooking methods are numerous. Eat it raw, pickled, braised, in soups, stews, stuff it(Grammie Annie's stuffed cabbage and Mom's sauerkraut onion pierogis!!!!!)
     Long live the family Brassica!

Menu for this week:
Creamed savoy cabbage with smoked salmon
Braised red cabbage with apples and honey
Hearts of escarole with blue cheese and walnuts
Grilled radicchio with aged red wine vinegar and pine nuts   
 Other options as well
Arugula salsa verde
Vegetable couscous

Be inspired by the market!