Facing a small dilemma on how to cook a fresh cabbage on a sunny Sunday, I decided that the best recipe would go just by following my intuition and my moods about spices and tastes from that moment. So I got to it, a yummy and incredibly tasty middle-eastern style cabbage.
In Romania we are used to cooking the cabbage either by stuffing its leaves with a mix of meat and veggies (the famous cabbage rolls or sarmale) or just by braising it along with some juicy meat. And I was definitely aiming for something else for my white, cute cabbage, and a middle-eastern style, more like a cabbage stir fry, with some flavored butter potatoes was for sure the best thing that could get. One small secret about this middle-eastern style cabbage is that you don’t have to cook it through, the cabbage has to remain a bit tender so you can feel its texture with every bite. Of course, this does not apply to the potatoes, but the mix between the soft potatoes and the tenderness of the cabbage, makes it all so yummy 🙂
As I got you used to, the recipe follows quite simple steps, with only few minutes spent in front of the stove, but the result is definitely worth every second of the cooking process. An explosion of savor and if your taste buds could talk, they would say “Thank you” thousand times. Nevertheless, the recipe is making also a perfect fit for your lunch box in the office.
- 1 small white cabbage (approx.1 kg)
- 400 gr butter potatoes
- 1 tsp of ground cumin
- 1 tsp of ground fennel
- 1/2 tsp ground harissa
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt, pepper
- fresh coriander
- Peel the potatoes and put them to boil for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.
- Slice the cabbage as thin as you can and put that aside in a bowl.
- Heat the 2 spoons of olive oil in one large frying pan and add the mix of ground spices.
- Flavor the olive oil with the spices for about 2 minutes then add the half cooked potatoes.
- Stir fry the potatoes for about 3-4 minutes, then add the cabbage. Mix well all the ingredients and let it cook on a medium heat, with a lid on, for 10 minutes. Occasionally check and keep mixing so the ingredients won’t stick to the pan.
- Serve immediately with fresh coriander or with some curry chicken breast.
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Varza orientala cu fenicul, chimion si cartofi
M-am lovit de o dilema legata de cum sa mai gatesc o simpla varza alba, dar intotdeauna se pare ca reteta catre succes, de data asta in bucatarie, este strans legata de faptul ca trebuie sa-ti urmezi intuitia si poftele in momentul respectiv. Zis si facut. Ce-a iesit? O incredibil de gustoasa varza gatita in stil oriental, peste care am adaugat si niste cartofi.
In Romania, sau cel putin cum am invatat eu acasa, dintr-o varza faci cam 2 feluri consacrate de mancare, fie sarmale, sau varza calita, cu ceva carne suculenta de porc si marar din belsug. Era clar ca ceea ce-mi doream pentru varza mea alba si draguta era diferit de clasicele retete, ceva care seamana cu un stir-fry, dar o idee mai oriental. Iar secretul pentru o altfel de reteta reusita cu varza, este sa ii pastrezi fragezimea si sa o gatesti maxim 10 minute. Evident, n-as aplica asta si pentru cartofi, doar daca ai gusturi ceva mai exotice decat media.
Ai de-a face, asa cum te-am obisnuit cu o reteta simpla, rapida, incredibil de aromata,care poate face cu succes fata si prazului de la birou pentru a doua zi. Papilele tale gustative or sa zica “Merci!”
- 1 varza alba, cam de 1 kg;
- 400 gr de cartofi mici;
- 1 lingurita de fenicul macinat;
- 1 lingurita de chimion macinat;
- 1/2 lingurita harissa macinata;
- 2 linguri ulei de masline;
- sare, piper;
- corinadru proaspat.
Curata cartofii si pune-i la fiert la foc mediu pentru 5-7 minute. Taie varza cat poti de fin si adaug-o intr-un bol.
Intre timp, incinge uleiul de masline intr-o tigaie incapatoare si aromatizeza-l cu mixul de condimente, cam 1-2 minute.
Adauga acum cartofii scursi din zeama in care au fiert si caleste-i aproximativ 2-3 minute in uleiul aromatizat. Transfera si varza si amesteca bine, astfel incat sa uniformizezi condimentele peste toata cantitatea de varza. Pune un capac peste tigaie si lasa la foc mediul aproximativ 10 minute, amestecand din cand in cand pentru a evita ca ingredientele sa se lipeasca.
Presara coriandru proaspat si serveste varza orientala fie simpla, fie ca garnitura pentru curry de pui.
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