I had my reservations about making dinner out of all purple vegetables.
I had a feeling that the red cabbage that was sitting at the bottom of the vegetable drawer for over two weeks and was looking a bit sad and wilted didn’t have much oomph left in it. That all it was going to do was leech out purple and stain the rest of dinner. And it did, a bit, but it didn’t matter because everything was already purple anyways.
There comes a time in January where I am so over large meals and fancy meats and cheeses and all I want is the unsexy, totally satisfying taste of an all vegetarian dinner made from scraps.
We’ve spent the last two weeks celebrating Christmas with Jason’s family and Russian New Year’s with mine, and it’s all a bit confusing as both traditions have a fat old man that brings gifts for the children and there are decorated trees as well. Theo’s a bit young to be skeptical of it all, but I imagine that in a few years he’ll have to reconcile the two holidays and we’re going to have some explaining to do.
And as with all family get togethers, the food has been plentiful and I’ve had zero willpower to not reach for seconds. This whole cycle is so boringly predictable that I’m embarrassed I’m even mentioning it to you all.
So I’m declaring January the month of vegetarianism in the Cassidy household. Another original idea I’m sure no one has had previously. And despite my fear of coming off to basic, I’m going for it anyways.
We’ll be eating our greens and our purples starting with this new invention that I’m calling cake in order to ease us out of the holidays gently. This meager little red potato and cabbage number hits the spot. It’s light, flavorful, and perfect as a vegetarian entree or a side dish. Let’s see how long we last before we bust out the pork chops.
- 1¼ pound red potatoes
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ½ small celeriac, chopped
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 1 pound red cabbage, cored and shredded
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Sour cream to serve
- Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with 1 inch salted water. Boil potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and mash. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add celeriac and onions and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add cabbage, salt, pepper, coriander, garam masala, and chili powder. Stir well and cook for about 10 minutes, until cabbage is wilted and soft. Remove from heat.
- Stir mashed potatoes into cast iron and mix until cabbage and potatoes are evenly distributed. If mixture is looking dry, drizzle olive oil on top and mix. Use a wooden spoon to pat down vegetables so they're even and flat, like a cake. Place cast iron back over medium high heat and cook, without touching, for about 10 minutes, until bottom side is browned.
- Remove from heat and place a large platter or cutting board on top of cast iron and gently flip to turn cake upside down. Slice into large wedges and serve with sour cream on top.
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