Dinner for One

My job affords me the ability to work from home on occasion.  It is nice to sit down at my home computer, in sweats if I want, and bask in the quietness that you don't have in the office.  You are able to get so much more done.  I was working from home on this day because we were having the window replaced in the second bedroom.  So, I go up, went to the gym (which was good because I certainly didn't feel like going later), got into some comfy clothes and sat down with my laptop and a big cup of coffee.

The day happened to be Thursday which is the day M has class in the evening.  It was going to be a long day by myself and I started thinking pretty early in the day what I was going to do for dinner.  I had some leftover cabbage from a soup I made earlier in the week.  I had just recently found a recipe for braised cabbage and thought it sounded interesting.  Now before you go and get all firmly set against cabbage, it is a wonderful vegetable.  You can make soups, stews, boiled dinners, cole slaws, salads, sides dishes, and main dishes with cabbage.  It is super tasty and you should definitely give this recipe a try.  M is not a fan of cabbage and since I was going to be alone for dinner, it was the perfect time to cook this up.  He also did not like the soup but I did.  I actually love cabbage.  I remember having it as a child in the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner and I always loved it.

This particular recipe used green cabbage, onions, and carrots.  You throw all the veggies into a casserole dish with some chicken stock, olive oil, and salt and pepper.  I also added a glug of white wine.  You then throw it in the oven and let it get all brown and delicious.  The original recipe also called to serve with a poached egg but I don't know how to poach an egg so I fried one.  And this my friends was a very satisfying meal for me.  There were plenty of leftovers and it was just as good reheated.

Braised Cabbage

Adapted from Orangette

This recipe does make a lot of braised cabbage and since I was using up a head of cabbage, I really halved this recipe.  But if you want this as a side dish for a get together, follow the recipe as written.  If you like your cabbage to still have a little bite to it, don't cook it quite as long.  I actually like mine with a little crunch still to it so I have adjusted the time on this recipe to suit my tastes.  If you like it a little softer, cook it longer.  And remember, these are very tasty leftovers (and I am not always  big fan of leftovers so if I say it's good, it's good).

1 head green cabbage

1 large onion cut into thick slices

1 large carrot, or 2-3 smaller ones, cut into thick rounds

1/4 cup chicken stock

A good glug of white wine

1/4 cup or so extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

A sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes

1 poached or fried egg

Preheat the oven to 325.  Make sure the rack is in the middle of the oven.

Peel the outer layers of the cabbage off and toss.  Gently rinse the cabbage and pat it dry.  Cut it into wedges and trim away some of the core.  You will want to leave some of the core intact to keep the wedges together.  You should probably get about 8 wedges out of the head of cabbage. 

Place the wedges in a single layer in a casserole dish.  Scatter the onion and carrots around the cabbage.  Pour the chicken stock, white wine, and olive oil over the vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.   Cover the dish tightly with foil and put into the oven.  Cook the cabbage for about 45 minutes.  Remove the dish from the oven, uncover, and flip the cabbage wedges.  Recover and cook for about another 45 minutes until the vegetables are tender.  When the cabbage is just about where you want it, crank the oven to 400 degrees, uncover the dish, and cook for about 10 minutes more or until the veggies are slightly brown around the edges. 

Serve warm with the egg on top.  Season with a little more salt and pepper to taste.