Cabbage pudding deserves a revival – here's how to make it golden instead of gray.
Cabbage pudding has an undeservedly bad reputation. Many remember it as gray and watery from school cafeterias, but when made from scratch, it's sweet, golden brown, and flavorful. And it's cheap: a kilogram of cabbage costs almost nothing and goes a long way.
The secret lies in the cabbage, even before it meets the ground meat. Raw cabbage contains a lot of water and has a sharp, almost bitter taste. If you add it directly to the meat mixture, the pudding will be soggy. Instead, sauté a kilogram of finely shredded cabbage in butter for 20-25 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated and the edges have turned golden brown. Use a large pot, not a frying pan: a kilogram of shredded cabbage takes up almost four liters before it shrinks, and in a regular pan, it will just steam.
The dark syrup is meant to brown the cabbage, not to make the dish sweet. Add it only when the cabbage has already softened, otherwise it will burn. The sweetness also helps to tame the bitterness.
The basic recipe: 500g ground meat, one yellow onion, one egg, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs soaked in 1/2 cup milk, salt, dried marjoram, and pepper. If you want more texture, you can replace the breadcrumbs and milk with two cups of cooked rice; both variations are found in classic recipes.
Let the cabbage cool to room temperature before mixing it with the raw ground meat. Brush the surface with a little syrup and bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 45-60 minutes. Since it's ground meat, the center should reach 70 degrees Celsius, so a meat thermometer is the safest way to check. Let it rest for ten minutes so that the pieces hold together.
The accompaniments are half the dish: boiled potatoes, a simple sauce made with cream, a little flour, and a splash of soy sauce, and most importantly, lingonberry sauce, whose acidity balances the sweetness of the syrup. The best part is that cabbage pudding tastes just as good reheated, so feel free to make a double batch and freeze portions.
Source: Metro Mode
The secret lies in the cabbage, even before it meets the ground meat. Raw cabbage contains a lot of water and has a sharp, almost bitter taste. If you add it directly to the meat mixture, the pudding will be soggy. Instead, sauté a kilogram of finely shredded cabbage in butter for 20-25 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated and the edges have turned golden brown. Use a large pot, not a frying pan: a kilogram of shredded cabbage takes up almost four liters before it shrinks, and in a regular pan, it will just steam.
The dark syrup is meant to brown the cabbage, not to make the dish sweet. Add it only when the cabbage has already softened, otherwise it will burn. The sweetness also helps to tame the bitterness.
The basic recipe: 500g ground meat, one yellow onion, one egg, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs soaked in 1/2 cup milk, salt, dried marjoram, and pepper. If you want more texture, you can replace the breadcrumbs and milk with two cups of cooked rice; both variations are found in classic recipes.
Let the cabbage cool to room temperature before mixing it with the raw ground meat. Brush the surface with a little syrup and bake at 175 degrees Celsius for 45-60 minutes. Since it's ground meat, the center should reach 70 degrees Celsius, so a meat thermometer is the safest way to check. Let it rest for ten minutes so that the pieces hold together.
The accompaniments are half the dish: boiled potatoes, a simple sauce made with cream, a little flour, and a splash of soy sauce, and most importantly, lingonberry sauce, whose acidity balances the sweetness of the syrup. The best part is that cabbage pudding tastes just as good reheated, so feel free to make a double batch and freeze portions.
Source: Metro Mode
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