Cabbage Lasagna
Almost every meal on Cat Island involves coleslaw. Cabbage, carrots and lots of Mayo. It’s not bad. I love coleslaw and can easily skip the rice and peas and potatoes salad that also accompanies the meal. In some restaurants here on the island they have tried to vary the formula a little by adding hot sauce or changing from mayo to vinaigrette. Or by adding raisins or apple. But it is still coleslw.
Almost every farmer will plant cabbage in October to be ready to harvest in February or March. We therefore have plenty of fresh cabbage in the spring. I didn’t even know that cabbage could taste so fresh and crispy until I tasted a head right from the farm. Where I grew up, cabbage was the staple winter vegetable and usually served in conjunction with ground meat.
The famous Swedish cabbage dolma (not very Swedish at all, as it turns out, because it was brought to Sweden in the 1800s with the returning prisoners of war from Turkey. They had been prisoners for 25 years, and were, by then, more Turkish than Swedish). Cabbage Lasagna or cabbage dumplings. All vey good and almost totally unknown outside Sweden. Here is the recipe for cabbage lasagna…
Ingredients
- One head of cabbage
- 1 pound of ground meat
- 1 big yellow onion
- 1/4 cup of cream
- Butter, salt, pepper and any other spice you might like. Coriander or fresh cilantro is good.
- Optional: 1 can crushed tomatoes.
Method
- Sauté the ground beef with onion and spices and discard most of the fat after it is done.
- Cut the cabbage into strips and sauté them too until they are soft.
- Grease a lasagna pan and layer the cabbage and meat.
- End with cabbage
- Pour the cream over the cabbage and, if you want to, the can of crushed tomatoes.
- Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes.
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Summary
Jacqueline Campaigne
When we moved to Cat Island, 16 years ago, I knew we had found our paradise. But even paradise has its glitches. For a foodie like me, the lack of fresh veggies and meat, the scarcity of fish and the really bad assortment of wines was a bit of a challenge. I had to learn to cook in a whole new way. How to make an interesting salad out of carrots and iceberg lettuce, for example. Not so easy. If any of my ideas can make a dent in the traditional way the cooks of Cat Island think and serve dinner, I think it would be a step in the right direction. I might not be able to convert anybody, but I can inspire at least some of them. If you are reading my blog from afar, perhaps you will visit my cat island kitchen. I would enjoy cooking for you!