With all the focus today on trendy vegetables like kale and Brussels sprouts, we tend to forget about good old fashioned cabbage. It’s cheap and tasty and—just like its more fashionable cousins—good for you. And while most people associate cabbage with northern European cooking, Italians enjoy cabbage, too. Braised Savoy Cabbage is a favorite contorno – side dish-, on late-autumn and winter tables in central and northern Italy. In this rendition, pancetta and meat broth add savor, although the dish can be made vegan by omitting the pancetta and substituting vegetable broth for the meat broth. The recipe does equally well with green cabbage. (cavolo cappuccio).photos coco zordan
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Braised Savoy Cabbage – Verza Stufata
cakeThe Recipe
Servings
4
Prep time
5 min.
Cooking time
30/40
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Ingredients
1 head of Savoy cabbage
50g (2 oz) pancetta, cut into cubes
1-2 cloves of garlic
Olive oil
Meat broth, or water
Salt and pepper (if not using the bouillon)
Directions
Remove any wilted outside leaves from the cabbage. Split it in half vertically, then in half again, so you have four quarters. Trim the core from each quarter, then cut the quarters horizontally into strips, either thick or thin accordingly to your taste.
In a braising pan, gently sauté the pancetta and garlic in olive oil (or lard) until they are both slightly brown. The pancetta should render much of its fat but it should not be crispy. Remove the garlic clove.
Add the cabbage to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and turn until the cabbage is covered all over with the seasoned fat. Let the cabbage simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes, stirring from time to time.
Add 2-3 cups broth (or water) to the cabbage. Cover the pan and let the cabbage braise over very low heat for about 30 minutes or so, or until the cabbage is perfectly tender and the liquid has almost entirely evaporated. (If there is still a lot of liquid in the pan, you can simply boil it off over high heat, and vice-versa add some more water if too dry).
Serve hot. The dish can be made ahead and reheated. In fact, it tastes even better the day after than when freshly made.
