Currabinny Cooks: Three recipes to make anyone fall in love with cabbage

Colcannon, stuffed cabbage rolls and a black pudding sauce

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls inspired by TikTok. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan

There is something special about cabbage. It is difficult to describe how much this humble brassica delights me.

It might seem strange to some to obsess over such a seemingly ordinary, lowly vegetable such as cabbage, but it is exactly these kinds of ingredients that are often overlooked that offer the most interesting possibilities.

Cabbage is perhaps the most important staple vegetable on this island after the potato. They suit the climate and our traditional dishes, plus they are available locally and inexpensively over a long season, yet we so often favour ‘exotic’ imports over these simple but nourishing and versatile foods.

Until recent decades, Spring cabbage was a widely welcomed crop, being the first leafy green vegetable available after a long winter dominated by root vegetables and the hard ‘keeping’ cabbages. These fresh new season leaves are still a treat, even if the range of other vegetables, whether imported or grown under protection, has undermined its special position in the cook’s calendar.

We have never actually grown cabbage in the garden here in Currabinny. Cabbage takes up quite a lot of space, which unfortunately is not something we have an abundance of. I have often thought of digging up everything else one year and becoming a cabbage soloist but my father would never allow his precious potatoes, onions and carrots to be abandoned. If you are growing it, allow for a good bit of space.

Cabbage can be harvested throughout the year if the right varieties are sown. The different types of cabbage need to be sown at different times of the year as follows: summer cabbage is sown in April; autumn/winter cabbage is sown in May, and spring cabbage is sown in late July/early August. A good tip if you do grow your own is after harvesting a cabbage head, cut a cross into the stem – if left in the soil, each quadrant in the stem will sprout baby cabbage leaves, which effectively gives you a second crop from the one plant.

In the kitchen, I am forever exploring and discovering new and delicious ways of using cabbage. The following recipes are some new and some reimagined favourites featuring a haul of beautiful spring cabbage which we got from local greengrocers in Dublin.

Roasted cabbage with confit garlic and Cáis na Tíre

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

We recently included a recipe for roasted confit garlic, it is incredibly simple to prepare and keeps well for ages in the fridge.

Servings

4

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• head of York cabbage, quartered

• Sea salt

• 160g butter

• 4 cloves of roasted or confit garlic 

• 100g Cáis na Tíre

Method

1. the oven to 200°C.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, mash together the butter and roasted garlic (simply squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin). Briefly blanch the quartered cabbage pieces in salted boiling water, just enough to make them a little more tender at their dense middles. Pat dry and place on a large roasting tin. Slather them generously with the roast garlic butter and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

3. Take out and grate the Cáis na Tíre over it, placing it back in the oven for a final 5 minutes

Stuffed cabbage rolls

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

These beauties were actually inspired by social media. There is an exciting trend of sharing videos of recipes on TikTok.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 35 mins

Total Time

 45 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 10-12 spring or savoy cabbage leaves, the outer green ones are best. Washed well

• 200g cooked basmati rice

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• Small handful of pine nuts, toasted

• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped preserved lemon peel

• Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

• Tablespoon of thyme leaves

• 1 egg, beaten

• Sea salt

• Black pepper

• Sumac

• Olive oil

• 50g butter

Method

1. Place the cabbage leaves in a large pot of boiling salted water over medium high heat. Do this in batches if needs be. Cook for around 2 minutes, just enough for them to become workable but still retain their vibrant green colour and a little bit. Cut out any central stalks.

2. Transfer the blanched leaves to a large bowl of cold or iced water to cool. Drain the leaves and gently pat dry with a kitchen towel.

3. Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil and add the chopped onion. Turn down the heat slightly and cook for around 3-4 minutes until starting to soften.

4. Season lightly with sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper and add the chopped up preserved lemon. Cook for a further 5 minutes until the onion has turned translucent and the preserved lemon has softened and become fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool.

5. In a large bowl mix together the cooked rice, onion and preserved lemon, toasted pine nuts, thyme leaves, chopped parsley and beaten egg.

6. Season with a pinch of sea salt, few cracks of black pepper and a teaspoon of sumac.

7. Make the rolls by placing a heaped tablespoon or two of the rice filling in the middle of a cabbage leaf. Fold in all the sides so that you get a nice compact, slightly oblong little dumpling. Arrange the cabbage rolls seam side down in a frying pan or skillet on medium-high. Add butter to the pan along with around 120ml of water. Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and leave to steam for around 15 to 20 minutes.

Colcannon with black pudding sauce

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

This black pudding sauce won’t be the most attractive looking sauce, but it will be one of the most moreish and delicious. It goes perfectly with buttery mashed potato laced with ribbons of delicious spring cabbage.

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 350ml chicken stock

• 250g good quality black pudding

• 1kg floury potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized chunks

• 180g butter

• 250g spring cabbage, trimmed, thick ribs discarded

• 1 small red chilli, seeds discarded, finely chopped

• 100ml milk

• 4 eggs

• Sea salt

• Black pepper

• Rapeseed oil

• Handful of parsley, chopped

Method

1. First make the spring cabbage colcannon. Place the potato chunks in a pot of boiling salted water over medium heat for around 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the chunks.

2. You want them to be nice and tender. Drain and leave to steam dry in a colander.

3. Melt 60g butter in a frying pan and add the spring cabbage with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Fry until starting to caramelise. Mash the potatoes with the remaining 120g butter and milk and season. Stir in the fried cabbage, and keep warm.

4. Make the black pudding sauce by gently frying the chilli and onion with a pinch of salt and pepper in a little oil in a medium-sized saucepan. When softened, add the stock and bring to the boil. Then add the black pudding, removing the pan from the heat. Let the black pudding cook through in the broth, return the stove to heat, bring to a simmer for a final 2 minutes. Blitz with a good stick blender until smooth.

5. Serve the colcannon with a generous amount of black pudding sauce poured over and a good scattering of chopped parsley.