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Cabbage and Noodles: not fancy, but very comforting.
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Makes 10+ servings
Ingredients
1 head of cabbage (about 3 lbs)
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 3 ¼ lbs)
¼ lb thick-cut bacon, sliced into ¼-inch segments
3 Tbs olive oil
¼-cup of white wine (a Sauvignon Blanc, for instance)
2 Tbs butter
1 lb rotini or wide egg noodles
1½ tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 lb small-curd cottage cheese
Directions
- Remove the loose outer leaves of the cabbage, as well as any that may be discolored. Remove the core. Slice the remaining cabbage into pieces that are, at the most, 2½” x ½” (or shred it). Set aside.
- Trim the chicken of any excess fat. Slice into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.
- Pour 2 Tbs olive oil into a large (8 quart) soup pot. Toss one small piece of cabbage into the oil. Heat over medium flame until the cabbage begins to sizzle. Swirl the oil around to coat the pot. Add the chicken and bacon to the pot and stir-fry it until the chicken is crisp and cooked through. Mmm; doesn’t that smell good? Remove the meat and set aside. Of course you could do this with chicken breast meat, but you know what they say: once you go thigh, you’ll kiss white meat goodbye.
- Pour excess oil from the pan and deglaze with wine.
- Add butter and remaining Tbs of olive oil to the pot. As soon as the butter has melted, add the cabbage, turn heat to low, and place a lid on the pan. Simmer cabbage, tossing it every 3 minutes or so, until it’s soft but still has a bit of crunch, 12-15 minutes.
- While the cabbage is cooking, boil up the pasta.
- Once the cabbage is cooked, season it with salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper. Stir in caraway seeds. Add the chicken back in. Stir. Cook over lowest heat, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring half-way through.
- As soon as the pasta’s drained, add it to the pot, along with cottage cheese. Toss. Correct seasoning. Off heat. Enjoy.
My Polish grandmother used to make Cabbage and Noodles like this … is it a riff on Łazanki? … but hers was either meatless, or used diced kielbasa. I’ve seen similar recipes that use sour cream instead of cottage cheese, and many that include no dairy product at all. I eat this as a main course, but it could be served as a side dish as well.
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Credits for all images on this page: Make It Like a Man!
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