Savoy cabbage, in my opinion, is pretty much the best cabbage there is. It seems to be rather seasonal here in Southern California. And this is its season. So when I see it, I grab it!
When I saw it today at the Hollywood Farmers Market, grab it I did! Because I have had something in mind for quite some time. I’ve just been waiting for our 80 degree winters to take a quick break. Well, today cool temperatures and a bit of rain marked my Sunday at the Farmers Market. In fact, I barely got out of there before the wet weather began. So I rushed right home and started in on one of my favorite cool weather recipes. Baked Italian Style Savoy Cabbage (Cavolo Verza al Forno).
If you pay any attention at all to what I’ve been up to (and I know that you do), then you will have noticed that I’ve had a theme running these past few weeks. Comfort food. It was perhaps best illustrated through my recent Macaroni and Cheese with Lobster recipe. But I also had a classic American-Style Spaghetti and Meatballs. On that day I discussed that, to Americans, pasta served with meatballs is not only classic– it’s comfort food to boot. But, in truth, it’s not authentically Italian. Though I am sure many Italians have been comforted by it. Does that make sense?
Well today, I have a classic (and authentic) Italian comfort food. You guessed it. Baked Italian Style Savoy Cabbage (Cavolo Verza al Forno).
serves 6
Adapted from The Silver Spoon
CLICK here for a printable recipe
- 2 T unsalted butter
- 1 c fresh or panko style breadcrumbs
- 2 lb savoy cabbage, cut into 1/2″ ribbons
- 1 T olive oil, plus more as needed
- 4 sweet Italian sausages, removed from casings
- 4 T tomato paste
- salt and pepper, as needed
- 1 c mozzarella, grated, chopped or shredded
- 1 c heavy cream
- 1⁄2 c parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- crusty bread
In a small skillet set over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the breadcrumbs and toast, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the heat and set aside
Prepare a large bowl with an ice bath. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of salt. Add the cabbage strips to the water, stir well and boil about 5 minutes. Drain the cabbage and add it to the ice bath to stop cooking. Dry the cabbage well using a salad spinner. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a deep 2 to 3 qt casserole or cocotte style dish with olive oil. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the crumbled sausage, and heat gently. Stir in the tomato paste and 5 tablespoons water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until done through, about 10 minutes.
Spoon about 1/3 of the cabbage onto the bottom of the prepared casserole dish, and smooth out to an even layer. Season with salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Top the cabbage with half of the mozzarella in an even layer. Then add half the cooked sausage on top of that in an even layer. Repeat the process, then add the remaining 1/3 cabbage as the final layer. Season well and pour the cream over the top. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
Bake 45–50 minutes, until browned and bubbly. Serve hot in shallow bowls with some of the liquid and plenty of crusty bread on the side.
SERIOUS FUN FOOD
Greg Henry
SippitySup
I couldn’t get over how much of a burgundy color the shallots took on. I bet they took on just as much flavor too.
If salmon can take the harsh flavor of cedar plank smoking, surely a little red wine isn’t going to hurt it!
love everything about this — the colors, the texture, the fish, edamame & sunchokes (although i’ve never eaten one)! and tossing out conventional wisdom isn’t a bad thing either!! beautiful pics Greg!!
That fish is just gorgeous! The flavors with the wine and the sunchoke puree sound incredible. I will book a seat at your home for dinner next time we are in LA! 😉
sunchokes! They are hard to get here, but when you can find them you can bet they are ALL at my house! Your salmon sounds so good, with the whole spices. Love!!
This looks so lovely. I love edamame too 😉
I am loving the wine braised shallots here and the edamame adds so much color to the plate, nice!
you know how I feel about salmon, but the rest of this dish is screaming my name. Great flavors, textures and colors. I may try this with a nice thick piece of halibut or monkfish. — S
Beautiful! We’d love to have you feature these photos at kitchenartistry.com
Joking aside, I have been a fan of red wines with firm, dark, oily fishes for some time (swordfish, salmon, mackerel). I don’t remember many white wines served alongside fish on the Adriatic coast, at least not when I was vacationing there:)
I love the spices in your dish — I am guilty of cooking salmon in 2 or 3 different ways only, and only when I don’t have enough time. Not fair:)
But I am really intrigued by this sunchoke puree. I am still on “per vu” with this weird looking rhizomes (at least I assume they are rhizomes).
Thanks for giving me an idea what to do with them:)
“It’s never as simple as the simpletons would have you believe” — well put!
Couldn’t agree more and love the color that the braised shallots add!
And I love the idea of your sunchoke puree. I can’t remember the last time I used sunchokes…I may have to give them a try.
Thanks for posting this. I always feel the odd woman out whenever I pair red wine with fish but It’s never bothered me. Your last sentence says it all and that’s the rule I’ve embraced.
I don’t care about the wine, but I want to pick those edamame off my screen. I usually just boil up the pods and eat them out of a bowl. Question — did you pound out the filet before rolling it? I love the presentation.
single serving pieces. GREG
10–4
Thank you for the well wishes concerning my adventure in finding a house. I’m bursting at the seams over the particular place I found-1890’s farmhouse, open layout, wide plank floors and oodles of charm. Your kitchen, which I saw in Food and Wine, is gorgeous and very much what I would like to use as inspiration when my time comes to remodel. I love the contrasting features.
Besides all of that real estate talk, I have every bit of this meal in my kitchen at this moment. Dinner! No fibbing. Agreed- Zinfandel would be a good match with salmon. Have a lovely rest of your week!
I think you did tear down a few walls today! What a wonderful job you did with the dish. All the ingredients seem to go perfectly together, bridging light and richness. I think I am going to have to try red with seafood soon!
This looks amazing Greg! I would love to see this on my table for dinner!
I’ve not cooked with salmon in so long, I am due. Due to make this tremendous looking dish, it really does look fantastic. Love the addition of edamame, and of course not to be outdone with the wine braised shallots and a new favorite in puree form no less, the sunchokes. Greg, you have outdone yourself.