Recipe Swap: All things Cabbage

Before I begun this month’s recipe thing I googled ‘slaw’ – ‘cause I know ‘coleslaw’, but ‘slaw’ isn’t really used that often (or at least around me) here in Australia. Slaw is a noun – short for coleslaw – basically shredded cabbage. Ok, I thought … cabbage, cabbage, cabbage … well shredded cabbage, more to the point …and what popped into my head? Phillip’s Mum!

Milka loves cabbage – Sarma (Cabbage rolls) are a staple diet of the population in Croatia. In a recent survey 97% of women over 25 regularly eat stuffed cabbage. Stuffed cabbage with ground smoked pork is a firm Croatian favorite at Christmas – although we normally are eating it for Easter (as it is cooler than our Christmas which occurs in the summertime). But it’s not just Sarma … she loves all things cabbage - although we are coming to the end of cabbage soup season (which I am secretly happy about), it also means that she will stop making one of my favourites: a delicious, winter-warming side dish made from Sauerkraut.
Sauerkraut directly translated from German: "sour cabbage", is finely shredded cabbage that has been fermented. It has a long shelf-life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid that forms when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage. It is therefore not to be confused with coleslaw, which receives its acidic taste from vinegar. (Thanks Wikipedia).

She makes her version of the dish with kidney beans, but I know that Phillip won’t eat it if I put beans into it, so here is my version of hot shredded cabbage – some like it hot!

Hot Shredded Cabbage

750 grams of sauerkraut
2 brown onions
2 rashes of bacon
6 slices of hot salami
2 tbsp paprika
½ tbsp vegeta (because it wouldn’t really be Croatian without it!)
½ tbsp of chili flakes
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Empty the sauerkraut into a colander and drain out all of the liquid. Wash the sauerkraut under running water, three times before draining and setting aside.

In a medium frying pan (which has about 5cm sides, because it will be easier to flip and mix everything), heat your olive oil and add your finely sliced onion, bacon and salami. Fry off until the onions are translucent and then add the paprika, chili flakes and vegeta.

Add the washed sauerkraut to the pan and toss, toss, toss. You don’t really need to cook the sauerkraut – you are just heating it through. Season with salt and pepper and then serve.


End Notes:
Apparently this is a bit of a peasant dish, and you can really add what ever meat you have on hand. Phillip’s mum normally adds speck. Speck is a distinctively juniper-flavored ham originally from Tyrol, a historical region that since 1918 partially lies in Austria and partially in Italy. Speck's origins at the intersection of two culinary worlds are reflected in its synthesis of salt-curing and smoking. (Thanks Wikipedia). The differences between speck and bacon include different time lengths of smoking, the technique of curing it, and the fact that speck cures for a longer period of time than bacon does.

Serve it pork (roast pork is delicious) and a side dish of mash potatoes with lots of butter and garlic and another side dish of designer lettuce and spring onions dressed with lots of olive oil and apple cidar vinegar. Another option is sausages and roasted beetroots – don’t judge it until you try it!