If you subscribe to a CSA or frequent your local farmer’s market, you’re probably running out of cabbage recipes to try – but there are still plenty of ways you can bring out the best in winter crucifers.

1. Vegan Cabbage Rolls

This Eastern European comfort food is getting a delicious vegan makeover. Cabbage rolls are usually stuffed with a rich meat filling, but this version lightens things up with a smoky mix of quinoa and lentils. The slowly braised cabbage leaves become mellow and slightly sweet as they bake in the simple tomato sauce for a moreish meal that will warm you up on a cold winter evening.

2. Rainbow Slaw

Winter produce has a reputation of being rather monotonous, but this rainbow slaw does away with any misconceptions. A combination of colorful seasonal cabbages joins scallions, sweet mango, and a variety of nuts and seeds for a crispy, crunchy salad that’s filled with vitamins, minerals, and flavor. A tamari dressing with a hint of sweet maple and an extra-large handful of cilantro finish this salad off nicely.

3. Colcannon

It’s perhaps no surprise that the Irish are masters of finding ways to make the humble potato taste even more delicious. In classic colcannon, two winter staples are united with bacon and a touch of butter for a hearty comfort food side dish that will be more than welcome on your winter table. To quickly turn this into a main, serve mounds of colcannon topped with a poached or fried egg or two.

4. Beet Sauerkraut

If you’ve reached your cabbage limit, why not save some for later in the form of homemade sauerkraut? This natural ferment is great for gut health, and it’s super delicious on top of salads or as a side to pretty much any cooked protein. This version is a little bit different from most: it gets its bold, beautiful color from a combination of red cabbage and raw red beet, which also lends a bit of sweetness to the final kraut.

5. Vegan Kimchi

If you prefer your fermented cabbage with a bit of spice, homemade Korean kimchi is the perfect solution. This vegan kimchi recipe is jam-packed with flavor thanks to a combo of scallions, garlic, ginger, and Korean chili powder. It also gets a touch of sweetness with the addition of a few apple slices. Enjoy it in this soft tofu soup or on its own with rice.

What are your favorite ways to serve cabbage? Let us know via Facebook or Twitter!

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Here are 21 cabbage recipes that are way more exciting than soup.

Ah, the almighty cabbage. While most of us think of the green head of cabbage, the cabbage family is large, and contains everything from kohlrabi to bok choy to cauliflower. There’s a reason that people are excited about brassicas: they’re versatile and good for you. Raw, cooked, or fermented, there’s plenty you can do with a simple cabbage. Different varieties are available at different times of the year, which means there’s always a cabbage variety that’s in season.

1. Grilled Cabbage Wedges with Spicy Lime Wedges

The beauty of summer is that it’s grilling season. But you don’t have to stick to burgers. Quarter a head of cabbage and make these wedges.

2. Cabbage Chips

Don’t let kale (another brassica!) steal the show. Cabbage does quite well in chip form as well.

3. Baked Cabbage Pakora

Usually fried, pakora fritters are a common Indian food, and a perfect appetizer for a summer dinner party.

4. Lime and Peanut Coleslaw

The perfect summer side salad, perhaps?

5. Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Slaw

Cabbage in tacos? You’re going to want to make yourself a margarita to go with that.

6. Red Cabbage Sheet Cake

Cabbage in a cake? Oh, yes. In fact, it’s similar to a carrot cake, except a little pink in color.

7. Cabbage and Berry Purple Smoothie

Round up those summer berries and make this smoothie for breakfast.

8. Cabbage and Onion Marmalade

Perfect to serve with crackers, or as a spread on top of flatbread.

9. Red Cabbage and Carrot Citrus Salad with Toasted Walnuts

This salad is as easy as throwing all the ingredients into the food processor.

10. Pickled Cabbage

Also known as Russian Sauerkraut, here you put fermentation to good use.

11. Quick Kimchi Salad

If you don’t have time to ferment kimchi, this recipe will work in a pinch. It uses savoy cabbage, but you can switch up for whatever cabbage you have on hand.

12. Cabbage Wraps with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Instead of making wraps with rice paper, why not try cabbage instead?

13. Crostini with Red Cabbage

Top off toasted bread doused in olive oil with some sautéed red cabbage.

14. Homemade Sauerkraut

Get some caraway seeds, a mason jar and ferment away.

15. Cabbage Salad with Tahini-Lemon Dressing

Purple cabbage makes for a stunning raw salad in this recipe.

16. Spicy Cabbage Potato Pancake

Use a little chile paste to spice these up.

17. Purple Cabbage Wraps

These are actually crepe-like rounds that are made with cabbage and chickpea flour. A fun gluten-free alternative to flour tortillas.

18. Cabbage Strudel

Hungary is the epicenter of cabbage recipes, including this classic.

19. Red Cabbage Salad with Fennel, Orange and Pepitas

A salad that packs a punch.

20. Cabbage Rolls

Another classic cabbage recipe, this time with a vegan spin.

21. Cabbage Bowls

Instead of serving salad in a regular bowl, why not make them out of red cabbage leaves?

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Image: William Warby

The post 21 Cabbage Recipes: Fall Even More in Love with Brassicas appeared first on EcoSalon.

If pickled cucumbers are the extent of your experience with pickled vegetables, you’re missing out on some wonderful tastes and nutrition.

This recipe for pickled cabbage is a foundational recipe in that you can replace the cabbage with any other vegetable of your choice. Over time, you can experiment with the use of herbs and spices to create a more aromatic and delicious result. Enjoy!

There are many ways to get healthy bacteria in your diet, from the likes of such concoctions as kefir or kombucha, but pickled vegetables are probably the easiest way to do it yourself. Pickled vegetables are created by a fermentation process, which yields incredible health benefits. Fermenting vegetables increases their vitamins and digestibility, providing anti-carcinogenic and antibiotic benefits as well as increasing the proliferation of healthy flora in the intestines. Typically, this process involves storing vegetables in a brine for a few days until the carbohydrates and proteins break down and microorganisms, such as friendly bacteria, develop. These bacteria are so beneficial, they are considered probiotics and help to improve overall nutrition, from digestion to immune function. Try this pickled cabbage recipe out and then take it to the next level with your own tweaks and additions, or try out a homemade version of a Korean staple, kimchi. Bon Appetit!

Pickled Red Cabbage

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 red cabbage head
• 2-3 tablespoons sea salt
• Room temperature water

Directions

Peel off 2-3 pieces of the outer layer of the cabbage and set aside. You will use them later to seal the jars.

Chop off and toss the stem of the cabbage. Slice the cabbage into thin strips. Place into a bowl and with clean hands, massage the salt into the pieces. Continue to do so for about 2-3 minutes.

In one large mason jar or a few smaller glass jars, add the cabbage pieces. With each addition, use a mortar to pound the pieces into the bottom of the jar. This helps to extract the juices and create room for more cabbage slices. Continue this process until you reach the top of the jar. With about 1 inch remaining to where the lid will go, slowly pour water into the jar so that it reaches the crevices between the pieces and doesn’t simply just float above the cabbage. Once the water reaches the top of the chopped cabbage, take the whole leaves you removed earlier, fold them, and insert them flat on top of the sliced cabbage. It is important that all the cabbage is completely submerged in the water. The folded whole leaves at the top will act as a seal. Close the lid of the jar, but keep it slightly ajar or not fully sealed.

Store in a dark, dry place at room temperature for 3-5 days or until you begin to see bubbles form. Drain before eating. Add to your salads for an extra probiotic boost. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: quinn.anya, GlowKitchen

The post Fermenting Basics: Pickled Red Cabbage Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

A salad that’s as easy to make as it is bright. 

This colorful salad is a springtime staple in my kitchen. Light and fresh, it takes only a few minutes to put together, and the sweeter taste of orange is a perfect offset to the raw cabbage. It’s packed with vitamin C, but if you’re in the mood for a salad that is a little more substantial, add in some cubed avocado.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped red cabbage
• 3 medium sized carrots, chopped
• juice of 1/2 an orange
• 1/4 cup toasted walnuts

Directions

Combine cabbage, carrots and orange juice in a food processor and mix until evenly chopped and blended. Be careful not to over blend, as your salad will end up on the soggy side.

Place in serving bowl and sprinkle with walnuts.

Every month on Sunday Recipe, we bring you a new theme of recipes, perfect for whipping up on a Sunday. For April it’s all about food that’s easy to travel with, perfect for your spring outings. Enjoy!

The post Sunday Recipe: Red Cabbage and Carrot Citrus Salad with Toasted Walnuts appeared first on EcoSalon.

Organic, textural and highly ornamental, cabbage is an ideal crop to plant in your garden during those fall and winter months when falling leaves can be the only color abundant in the garden.

Planting rows of the cabbage was a great solution for my own raised veggie bed (below), which is very challenging to maintain this time of year. I long for pumpkins but we never seem to get them going in time.

A garden designer friend suggested the purple, low-water use option of the Cruciferea family (from the same family as cauliflower, broccoli, kale, collards and Brussels Sprouts) as a way to fill in the blank bed.

I love how they look, rather modern and clean as a design feature, plus, they actually like living in my San Francisco yard (not one has complained about the morning fog).

As a cool season crop with color that can be enhanced by cold weather, they can tolerate chillier temperatures of nearly 32 degrees, according to Vegetable Garden Suite 101. You can keep them as a lovely design feature, or cook them in a variety of dishes, from savory soups to simple steamed side dishes and  wonderful, healthy slaws.

Still, many prefer ornamental cabbage and kale as low water use plants rather than food, finding other members of the family of plants are much more tasty as food crops.

Apparently, the cabbage originated as a wild crop along the Mediterranean and Western Europe where it was used medicinally, and was one of the first Cruciferea crops to be domesticated some 2,000 years ago. Part of the popularity is the fact ornamental varieties need virtually no maintenance.

There are many sites for buying the flowering cabbage seeds, including Park Seed and  Neseed, or you can find them at a local nursery that deals in organic plants.

Park Seed recommends starting the seeds indoors and covering them very lightly before transplanting when the leaves begin to shoot.  The color evolves around 3 1/2 months from sowing to form a rosette of colorful leaves with cream rose, pink and purple shades, 10 inches high and 12 inches wide. To dig up hints and growing rich and ruffly cabbage as borders or in containers, visit Garden Blaze.

Tell them Peter Rabbit sent you!

Main Image: Raelene G

Image One: Luanne Bradley

Image Two: Garden Blaze

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