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| Savoy: the fancy cabbage. Turn it into a side in ten minutes flat. |
Do you need a side for dinner this week, fast? This beautiful savoy cabbage is transformed into a delicious, lemony, Spring-like dish in ten minutes, start to finish.
Savoy Cabbage
I have to say, I have not been well acquainted with savoy cabbage over the years. Green cabbage, yes, for all the homemade coleslaw and buttered cabbage. Red cabbage, with fish tacos. And did you know Brussels sprouts are mini cabbages? Love those roasted. Napa, in kimchi. But savoy? I think I have a new favorite.
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| Savoy cabbage just may be my new favorite. |
Just look at it. The beautiful patterns on the leaves, the dark green fading to spring green — it makes me want to eat it now. Usually I get food cravings for things like chocolate or bacon. But this cabbage is just so lovely to behold and even lovelier to eat.
How to Eat Savoy Cabbage
Savoy cabbage can be sautéed, braised, chopped into a coleslaw or roasted. My favorite way to eat it, for ease of preparation and for taste, is sauteed. It cooks quickly, holds its shape well and has an excellent flavor. When I was preparing the ingredients, I cut out the core of the savoy cabbage, sliced it, and snacked on it. It has a nice peppery flavor.
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| Sauteed Savoy Cabbage |
How to Sauté Savoy Cabbage
Most good savory dishes need some key elements: fat, salt, acid and sometimes heat (there’s a book about those things, and a show which I haven’t seen). This cabbage uses olive oil as the fat, kosher salt as the salt and lemon as the acid. The cabbage itself has a bit of peppery tang to fill in for the heat. The result is amazing.
After slicing and sautéing the green onions in olive oil, add the sliced cabbage, lemon, water and salt. Total cooking time is less than five minutes. Add the sunflower seeds and some flaky sea salt and you’re ready to go.
What to Pair With Savoy Cabbage
This side would go lovely with a nice loaded baked potato, potato pancakes or roasted potatoes and some meat. I like the combination of potatoes and cabbage. This sauteed savoy cabbage would also be nice as a room temperature salad, perhaps with some extra sunflower seeds, currants, diced potatoes and a couple of hard boiled eggs with a thick slice of whole grain sourdough on the side.
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| Ready in 10; serves 4 |
Sautéed Savoy Cabbage
Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 head savoy cabbage
6 green onions
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon kosher or flaky sea salt (or about 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt)
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds
Directions
1. Remove large outer leaves and reserve for sandwich wraps, if you like. Slice cabbage in half. Remove core by running a knife down on either side of the core. You can slice this up and snack on it, it tastes lively and peppery. Slice each half of the cabbage into ribbons, then slice again crosswise. Set aside.
2. Heat a large pan over medium/high heat. Slice green onions, keeping dark green parts separate from lighter green and white parts. Add olive oil to pan and let it get hot. Add lighter green and white parts of green onions and saute for 1 minute, stirring once. Add dark green parts and saute for 1 minute, stirring once.
3. Add sliced cabbage to pan. Add lemon juice, salt and water and stir to combine. Cover, lower heat to medium and cook for 3 minutes. Do not stir or lift the lid.
4. The cabbage should be soft but not mushy. Serve cabbage in a bowl and garnish with sunflower seeds and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Other Delicious Sides
