Healthy Foods: Cabbage
We’ve found that the reason so many of us hate cabbage is the way the vegetable is cooked. For some reason, most people think there’s no other way of cooking the floppy leaves than sticking them in water or frying them down to a mush! Remember, the longer you cook them, the more pungent they smell because of the sulfur compounds in cabbage. Cooking the vegetable quickly preserves the nutrients as well as the color.
Cabbage contains vitamin A, C, folic acid, calcium, iron and cancer-fighting, immune system-boosting chemicals called indoles. The best way to conserve its nutrients is to boil them for less than 3 minutes in boiling water or steaming the leaves. As soon as the leaves are cut or torn, they start to lose vitamin C, so try to eat them fresh off the head. We like to use them as wrappers for mixed ingredients, even as a seaweed substitute for sushi. The crunchy, nutty flavors of cabbage go well with cold, sour and juicy flavors such as pineapple, orange segments, kiwi and salsa.
We also like to mix textures, such as spiced and curried rice with nuts and raisins or noodles with raw or steamed cabbage leaves. Fillings of turkey or other meats also suit the versatile cabbage very well. Microwaving stuffed cabbage with 2 tablespoons water, vegetable broth, or chicken stock in the dish is also a great time-saver and delicious snack or lunch. All you need for cabbage leaves stuffed with tuna salad, pasta, thai curry or tabouli takes just five to seven minutes.
We suggest stuffing cabbage leaves ahead of time and refrigerating or freezing them since we don’t recommend eating a whole cabbage head in one day. To prepare leaves for stuffing, cut them at the base, then remove them from the head and blanch until limp (three minutes at most in boiling water). Then shave off the thick part of the central rib from the back of each leaf, to make the leaf easier to roll. Place the filling at the bottom of the leaf’s cuplike hollow, then fold the bottom and the two sides of the leaf over the filling and roll up firmly. Secure the rolls with toothpicks and arrange them in a baking dish just large enough to hold them. When hungry, add stock, tomato sauce, Vegemite or other liquid and bake until the leaves are tender and the filling is heated through.
For an even easier method of stuffing the leaves, place a blanched prepared leaf in a small ladle or dry measuring cup (a 1/2-cup measure works well); let the edges of the leaf hang over. Pack the filling into the leaf and fold the edges over to enclose the filling. Place the rolls, folded-side down, in a baking dish and proceed with the recipe. So try not to use the cabbage head as an ornament on the table, and eat it instead! Did you know cabbage is one of the most economical vegetables a college student or bachelor can purchase? It stores for up to 6 months in cool, dry locations (that’s why people used to grow them so much in pre-refrigeration days gone by). We’re not suggesting you keep a cabbage under your bed over Christmas, but it’s definitely easier to store, wash, cut and cook than some other vegetables.
Tags: cooking vegetables, diet food
