BORSCHT!

I looked with dismay at large piles of beets and cabbage, and finally decided to muster up the courage to attempt to make borscht. A Russian classic, very red, not always popular. But I found a recipe in the Moosewood cookbook and got as brave as I could.

This is a LARGE recipe, so go ahead and half (or quarter) it.
2 cups sliced beets
2 cups sliced celery root (it was still in our fridge from, like, a month ago, and still good. The original recipe called for a cup of potato and a cup of celery, so i thought this would work out well enough).
COOK (10 min or so - until tender) in about 8 cups veg broth. Drain and set aside - but keep the broth!

3 cups chopped onion - saute in 4 TBSP butter until translucent. I used leeks instead.
Add 2 tsp caraway seeds, some salt, 1 cup chopped carrots, and a cabbage (thoroughly chopped - about 5 cups)
Add the reserved broth and any additional water necessary to cover the vegetables. Cook about 15 minutes (medium heat) until the cabbage is tender.

Add:
2 1/2 TBSP honey
2 1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dill
black pepper to taste
beets and potato/celery root previously cooked.

Simmer everything together on very low heat for 20 minutes or so.
Serve with sour cream (or yogurt), and a sprinkle more dill.




When you eat it, the dark red turns into bright pink. Awesome!

Braised Cabbage with Cream Sauce

I stole this recipe from Katie, who I think got it from Lucas. Anyway, this is probably the most elegant presentation for cabbage that I've ever seen, and pretty tasty to boot.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 small heads of cabbage

1 1/2 cups cream

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

water

butter

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, salt and nutmeg. Let the sauce reduce by half, stirring every 5 minutes or so to prevent burning. This will take 20-30 minutes.

While the sauce is reducing, prepare the cabbage. Peel off any damaged outside leaves. Leaving the core in to hold the leaves together, cut the cabbage in half lengthwise. Cut the cabbage into wedges, making sure that each section has a bit of the core to hold it together. The cabbages I had were very small, so I cut it into eighths, but you may need to cut more wedges if your cabbage is larger.

In a large skillet over high heat, arrange the wedges in a single layer and add a half inch of water. Do not over crowd the pan; you may need to do this in batches. When half of the water is gone, flip the wedges over to cook the other side. When the water is mostly gone, add a small pat of butter to help brown the cabbage. You won't need very much. Move the wedges around to coat the bottoms with butter, then flip them over. When the cabbage has browned slightly, flip them over to brown the other side. Remove the cabbage wedges to a plate immediately after they are done and cook any remaining cabbage wedges.

To serve, arrange the cabbage wedges and then drizzle a tablespoon of the cream sauce over each one.

Bon Apetit!