Starring on the plate - cabbage

Kale is a life-saving, hipster addition to a green smoothie after a busy weekend for some, a source of flavor and variety for others. Let's find out what delights you can cook from it!

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What is cabbage?

Cabbage is a cruciferous plant, although it looks a bit like some thick leafy lettuce. However, one bite is enough to know that it has a lot of cabbage flavor and a little bitterness, reminiscent of the taste of Brussels sprouts.

Like all green vegetables, it is rich in antioxidants, vitamins C and K, calcium and potassium. Kale has a positive effect on the functioning of the liver, heart and intestines. All its beneficial properties are preserved in raw or short blanched vegetables (2-3 minutes). Perhaps that is why it has become an indispensable element of green cocktails.

Where to buy cabbage?

Until a few years ago, cabbage was a rather despised vegetable. He was far from the status enjoyed by pumpkins or beans. Thanks in large part to the popularity of Internet influencers and their diets, including cocktail diets, kale has taken the kitchen and discount stores by storm.

We will buy fresh cabbage in the fall because its season is during the colder months. We can buy it at the vegetable counter, as well as in the refrigerators of stores in plastic bags. Kale usually lies next to spinach and sprouts. It's best to eat it as soon as possible - if you need to save it, it's best to wrap it in a slightly damp cloth and place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

How to cook cabbage?

Cabbage can be eaten raw - just wash it, dry it like a salad, get rid of the tough parts of the stalk, tear the leaves into pieces and add to your favorite salad. You must remember that people with sensitive intestines may experience the same sensations from such raw cabbage as they do from ordinary cabbage.

Anyone who has ever tried to make kale salad knows that the toughest leaves are the hardest part. How to make cabbage in a salad soft? There is a very simple way, and you should return to it when preparing each cabbage salad - massage! Cabbage leaves just need to be massaged to make them soft and tender. How to do it? Simply put the washed and dried cabbage in a bowl, add the juice of 1/2 lemon and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Then you need to massage each leaf with your hands so that it becomes tender. Now that the leaves have become soft, we can add whatever we like to salads.

cabbage salads

Delicious autumn salad with pears. It can be served as a regular salad mixed with sauce, or as a salad bowl that is now fashionable (ie.

Salad with cabbage and pear - recipe

Ingredients (per person):

• handful of cabbage leaves

• ½ pear
• handful of nuts
• 50 g sera feta lub gorgonzola
• 1 baked beetroot
• Pearl barley / bulgur

Dice the pear, feta cheese, gorgosol and beets. Put them on a plate or transfer them to a bowl. Sprinkle with raspberry vinaigrette (mix a handful of raspberries in a blender with 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 tablespoon honey and 1/4 cup olive oil). If we want a more hearty dish, we can add 3 tablespoons of boiled pearl barley or bulgur.

 From poverty, we can add pasta, but then you have to eat everything at once. One of the great things about kale is that it doesn't wilt as easily, which is why kale salads are great for transporting and chilling (you can cook them for work, take them to a picnic, or make them the next day in the evening). .

Salad with cabbage and broccoli - recipe

Composition:

• Packet of cabbage leaves
• handful of dried cranberries
• crushed almonds
• 1 broccoli
• 1 carrots
• Lemon dressing:
• XNUMX/XNUMX cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of mustard
• 1 spoon of honey
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon oregano

The salad also tastes great with chopped almonds next to the cabbage, a handful of dried cranberries, 1/2 cup chopped broccoli (yes, raw!), 1 grated carrot, and 1/4 finely chopped red onion. Mix all these ingredients with 2 handfuls of cabbage and sprinkle with lemon dressing, which gives everything a refreshing aroma.

Cocktails with cabbage

Green smoothie, or an Instagram and blog hit, is nothing more than kale leaves mixed with juice, usually apple and lemon. Why is the world crazy about them? Everyone thought it was the easiest way to eat lots of green vegetables. Some cocktails were filled with spinach leaves, others with cabbage. Apples, bananas, pineapples, strawberries, blueberries, and blueberries were added to the blender to add flavor. The most important rule to remember is to stir the cocktail for 2-3 minutes until the leaves really turn into a homogeneous mass. Otherwise, we will feel unpleasant fragments of stems and leaves under our teeth. Add chia or flax seeds to a green smoothie, which will help digestion and unload the intestines a little.

It should also be remembered that the body, not accustomed to a large amount of cabbage, may rebel a little and treat us with indigestion. The small steps method - a shake every other day or small portions every day - will definitely help. Many people have treated shakes as a water replacement drink and noticed their accumulation instead of the desired effect of losing centimeters.

The cocktail should be treated like a liquid dish - it has a lot of sugar if fruit is added (and added, because the cabbage itself does not taste very convincing). That is why the cocktail is a great alternative to a second breakfast or a healthy afternoon snack.

Cabbage Cocktail - Recipe

Composition:

• bunch of cabbage leaves
• ½ lemon/lime
• ½ avocado
• banana
• flax-seed
• glass of chopped pineapple
• Favorite fruits: blueberries/strawberries blueberries

Place a handful of washed kale leaves, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 avocado, 1 banana, 1/2 apple, and 1 tablespoon flaxseed into a blender bowl. We mix everything into a homogeneous mass. Cabbage mixed with fresh pineapple also tastes great (2 handfuls of cabbage, a little lime juice, a glass of chopped fresh pineapple).

Chia or seeds can be added to such a cocktail to help the intestines. In fact, we can add blueberries, strawberries, blueberries to the cocktail - fruits that we have on hand.

Adding a banana will give the smoothie a creamy texture, apple juice will give it a sweetness, just like pineapple. Lemon or lime will help get rid of the slight bitterness of the cabbage.

How to cook cabbage chips?

Kale chips are a healthy alternative to packaged chips. Satisfies the need to chew something salty. Like chickpea chips, kale chips will not replace the taste of fried potatoes. They can only replace the reflex to reach for something crunchy (I am not writing this to dissuade anyone from making them, but to understand that this is not the same as potatoes).

Prepare cabbage chips from washed and well-dried leaves. This is important - wet leaves in the oven will boil rather than become crispy. We cut out the tough parts from the leaves and tear them into smaller pieces. Massage them with olive oil. We can add 1/2 teaspoon of black or cayenne pepper or 1/2 teaspoon of cumin or dried garlic to the oil. Rub the leaves with spices and olive oil. Arrange them on a baking sheet so that they make up one layer. Bake for a quarter of an hour at 110 degrees Celsius. Flip and bake for another 5 minutes (it's worth checking if the leaves are already browned and lightly browned, as they may burn). We take them out of the oven, let them cool for 10 minutes and eat immediately.

Cabbage Pesto - Recipe

Composition:

• 2 cups cabbage leaves
• XNUMX/XNUMX cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons nuts
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 50 g grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon of salt

Kale, like basil or spinach leaves, can be used to make pesto. It is enough to wash 2 cups of leaves, get rid of the hard parts and throw them into the blender bowl. Add the above ingredients and mix it all until smooth. If you want to make vegan pesto, add 1 tablespoon yeast flakes in place of parmesan cheese. Serve pesto with noodles or croutons. It tastes great with a bit of chili sprinkled with tahini (i.e. sesame paste).

More texts from the Starring on a Plate series can be found on AvtoTachki Pasje in the Culinary section.

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