The humble, plain cabbage is Croatia’s hero vegetable. Croatians use cabbage every way imaginable from raw, boiled, pickled, fried, or sautéed. It’s the go-to vegetable!
I found this recipe in my sister’s Dennis Valcich cookbook and this is probably the fifth time I’ve made it in a couple of months. It helps that it’s cool in Australia at the moment, but this is would also be good for a summer bbq. (For those of you who don’t know Dennis, he is a Croatian/Australian master of Croatian cookery.)
This is also a great recipe for vegetarians or anyone looking for a warm condiment with red or white meat. Or I love serving it as a quick dinner with crispy bacon. And it’s super easy to make.
Ingredients:
- One (1) small plain cabbage, or half a large cabbage
- One (1) brown onion, peeled and diced
- Two (2) tablespoons of olive oil
- One (1) teaspoon of tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, depending on personal preference
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper, depending on personal preference
Method:
- Remove all the damaged and off-colour leaves and finely shred the cabbage. Discard the core. Rinse and drain well.
- Warm the olive oil to a large, deep pan on medium/high heat.
- Add the onion and fry until lightly golden and transparent.
- Add the cabbage handful by handful. When one handful has gone transparent, add the next and so on, until all the cabbage is in the pan. Once all the cabbage is in sauté for 8-10 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, salt and pepper and stir through.
- Keep stirring on medium heat for 15-20 minutes. When lifting the cabbage into a serving dish, use a perforated spoon to get rid of the excess juice and serve warm.
It’s as easy as that!
Let me know if you tried it and how it went!
Dobar Tek! Zivjeli! (Bon Appétit! Cheers and let’s live!)
