Creamy Cabbage Gratin With Toasted Almonds

Submitted by Kookaburra

"This lovely cabbage side dish features: a cheese and breadcrumb topping; tender, steamed cabbage; crunchy toasted almonds; and a delicate, slightly sweet, slightly spicy cream sauce. Better still, it can be prepared up to cooking stage several hours in advance. You won't need sauce or gravy with your meat if you use this as a side dish. The creamy sauce is fairly thin and spreads across the plate to combine beautifully with the meat juices. Use it to accompany any meat that is served *without* a sauce (e.g. grilled or broiled steak or chicken). This dish is very liberally adapted from a similar recipe by Australian food writer, Margaret Fulton."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 300 -400 g cabbage, finely sliced then very roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1⁄2 cup slivered almonds (or blanched almonds, roughly chopped)
• 1⁄2 cup cream
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3⁄4 teaspoon paprika
• 1⁄2 cup breadcrumbs (I prefer wholemeal)
• 1⁄4 cup grated cheddar cheese

directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Place cabbage into a colander and rinse briefly under cold running water until it is slightly damp.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over a moderately high heat, then add drained (but damp) cabbage.
4. Stir well, and cover with a lid.
5. Steam cabbage over a moderately high heat for approximately 5 minutes or until the cabbage is tender, but still a little crunchy.
6. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine cream, salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg and paprika and stir to combine.
7. When the cabbage is cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat and reduce the heat on the stove top to medium.
8. Place 1 teaspoon oil into a small frypan.
9. Heat oil in the frypan for a minute or two, then add the almonds, tossing constantly until they turn a light golden brown.
10. Add the toasted almonds and the cream mixture to the cabbage and stir well.
11. Grease a small (3 cup capacity) casserole or pyrex dish with butter or margarine.
12. Transfer the cabbage mixture to this dish and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
13. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs and cheese.
14. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top of the cabbage.
15. (If you wish to make this dish several hours ahead of serving time, prepare it up to this stage, cover with plastic wrap, and keep in the refrigerator until needed).
16. Bake on the centre shelf of a moderate 180C (350F) oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown- cooking time may be slightly longer if the dish has been refrigerated.

Reviews

[dusty AE]

This was a tasty, easy dish to prepare. I tweaked it a bit, after steaming the cabbage a few minutes I tossed in the almond and pine nut mix (all I had - but would use the pine nuts again)and browned them that way. I used roughly 600gr cabbage so my sauce was not as runny...but I have been using the left overs on toast for breakfast and it is delicious! I will also try caraway seeds next time.

 

[moxie]

This is a delicious and tasty side dish -- I loved the flavors of the sauce. The contrast in textures with the crunchy crust, smooth cabbage and little bites of almonds is to die for. I did have to steam my cabbage over a fairly medium-low heat because it started to burn a little. To get the breadcrumbs, I put two slices of toasted wheat bread in the blender, and it was the perfect amount. Thanks for another wonderful recipe, Kooka.