What do do with a whole picked cabbage?
November 6, 2014 5:22 PM Subscribe
I have a whole pickled cabbage sitting in my fridge and I don't want to throw it out. Help!
In a fit of enthusiasm a couple of months ago, I bought a whole head of pickled cabbage, intending to make cabbage rolls while the cold weather lasted. Summer is coming towards us fast (we had a 36C day this week) and it's still sitting in the fridge looking like a shrunken head and bothering me.
There's probably no chance of me making slow-cooked pork and cabbage rolls in dill and tomato broth with it now (my original intent), so please give me some ideas suitable for eating and prepping in the increasingly hot weather.
The cabbage itself is whole, pickled in brine, vacuum-packed and weighs just over a kilo (2-3 pounds old school). I have a well-equipped kitchen and a very well-stocked pantry and am game to try just about anything.
In a fit of enthusiasm a couple of months ago, I bought a whole head of pickled cabbage, intending to make cabbage rolls while the cold weather lasted. Summer is coming towards us fast (we had a 36C day this week) and it's still sitting in the fridge looking like a shrunken head and bothering me.
There's probably no chance of me making slow-cooked pork and cabbage rolls in dill and tomato broth with it now (my original intent), so please give me some ideas suitable for eating and prepping in the increasingly hot weather.
The cabbage itself is whole, pickled in brine, vacuum-packed and weighs just over a kilo (2-3 pounds old school). I have a well-equipped kitchen and a very well-stocked pantry and am game to try just about anything.
(the fresh kind in the translucent wraps, not the deep-fried kind)
posted by Jacqueline at 5:48 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Jacqueline at 5:48 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
I would try shredding some of it for coleslaw. Maybe squeeze out the brine, or maybe rinse it and squeeze out the water, if you think the brine would interfere with your favorite coleslaw dressing.
Recently I've been using kimchi chopped fairly fine (~4mm) as a garnish in or on a variety of different dishes. Pickled cabbage might serve the same function.
posted by Bruce H. at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Recently I've been using kimchi chopped fairly fine (~4mm) as a garnish in or on a variety of different dishes. Pickled cabbage might serve the same function.
posted by Bruce H. at 7:10 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Isn't this just... sauerkraut? In, like, solid (not shredded) form? If so, sauerkraut has a lot of really good probiotic properties, so I would shred it, put it in an airtight container (jar) with the brine and eat it as a side dish here and there until it's gone.
posted by Brittanie at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Brittanie at 7:15 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Cover a pan in sliced Vidalia onion rounds with olive oil. Chop/shred cabbage. Rinse. Mix with pepper, garlic, olive oil and enough delicious paprika to make the whole deal a lovely orange in color. Layer over the onion slices. Throw on your grill. When onions are translucent/Carmelized and cabbage is hot, mix. Prior to this the onions had been taking the brunt of the heat from the grill at the bottom, protecting the delicate cabbage. Give it another minute or so on the grill, mixing.
Serve over bratwurst or other substantive sausage, or with side of kielbasa.
posted by slateyness at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]
Serve over bratwurst or other substantive sausage, or with side of kielbasa.
posted by slateyness at 7:59 PM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]
The "rinse" is to rinse out just a bit of the sourness from the cabbage, so the onion sweetness comes through. Not too much rinsing.
posted by slateyness at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2014
posted by slateyness at 8:01 PM on November 6, 2014
Best answer: stuffed cabbage freezes really well.
posted by brookeb at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by brookeb at 8:45 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'd make Rassolnik, substituting your cabbage for the pickles.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2014
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:58 PM on November 6, 2014
At the Szechuan restaurant that I adore, (Seven Stars in Seattle), one of my favorite dishes is a pickled cabbage vermicelli.
I don't know their recipe, but it seems to be this: slice up some pickled cabbage into very thin strips. Then, stir fry with some mung bean glass noodles, hot peppers, garlic, and ginger, along with some spices that I don't know. Then, serve.
Alternatively, you could probably just eat it as is, on top of some rice.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:37 PM on November 6, 2014
I don't know their recipe, but it seems to be this: slice up some pickled cabbage into very thin strips. Then, stir fry with some mung bean glass noodles, hot peppers, garlic, and ginger, along with some spices that I don't know. Then, serve.
Alternatively, you could probably just eat it as is, on top of some rice.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:37 PM on November 6, 2014
Response by poster: After humming and hawing, I've thrown the silly thing into the freezer so I can deal with it later. It was 40C here yesterday and thinking about cooking anything was impossible. Thankyou for the suggestions - I'll come back and them in 3 months or so when I'm no longer living on Hell's doorstep. Totally my own fault for not asking this earlier.
posted by ninazer0 at 5:01 PM on November 23, 2014
posted by ninazer0 at 5:01 PM on November 23, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:48 PM on November 6, 2014