Warm Caraway Cabbage

When the first rains comes each year it's only a matter of days before I begin to crave braised cabbage.  The sweetness of the apples, the tartness of apple cider vinegar and the aromatic, comforting quality of caraway tend to perfectly satisfy the first autumn chill- especially when accompanying sausage.

Caraway is a traditional spice used throughout the ages for various maladies. The ancient Arabs brought caraway to Europe where it became popular as a culinary spice and as a a digestive aid- chewing the seeds well after a meal to release their stimulating aromatic oils helps relieve indigestion. For this reason, caraway became a common ingredient in aperitifs.  As a side note, caraway was also traditionally used in love potions as it was believed to keep lovers from turning fickle!

My version of this traditional German dish includes fresh apple cider and maple syrup, other than that, it's fairly basic. Go for onions on the sweeter side if you can- cipolline or red.

Warm Caraway Cabbage 

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons caraway
• 1 head of red cabbage (medium sized), sliced thinly 
• 1-2 tart apples- peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 cup freshly juiced apple cider (use store-bought if you don't have a juicer)
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

In a heavy-bottomed pot sauté the onion in butter over medium heat until soft and beginning to brown. Add the caraway seeds and cook a few minutes more to release the aromatics of the caraway.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer covered for about a half hour, stirring periodically. Then remove the lid and simmer twenty minutes more. 

Parsnip Celery Root and Apple Gratin

This recipe was inspired by a dish I had at Cornucopia, one of my favorite restaurants in Dublin. The restaurant is a sheltered, warm little hideaway just off Grafton Street and out of the cold bustle of Dublin. It is always packed with a line of people waiting to eat the delicious vegetarian and often vegan menu items, which change from moment to moment throughout the day, depending on what the cooks feel like making.
It was here, when I was 18, visiting Ireland with my mom that I first realized I wanted to have a restaurant.
I made this a couple weeks ago for an Irish party I had and it was definitely the hit of the night. Since then, I've made it a couple more times- The lovely thing about it is that it's very simple.
The cheese gets nice and crispy while the apples provide a sweet balance to the astringent celery root.

I have made this gratin with potatoes instead of the celery root, but I don't think it's quite as good- and celery root is very good for you- cooling and slightly cleansing (which you need to balance out all the butter and cheese!)

If you've never cooked celery root before, don't be intimidated by it's less than attractive appearance! The hairy, gnarled monster can be easily tamed with a good sharp knife. Celery root, which is also called 'celeriac', is available all winter long, as it keeps well.












Look for ones that are free of soft brown spots. Celery root can also be eaten raw- and is typically made into a salad called remoulade- with mayonnaise. It has been eaten in Europe for centuries (it was even mentioned in Homer's Odyssey!). It has tons of Vitamin C, potassium and phosphorus. Oh, and scrub it well before using- because there is often sand and dirt hiding in the roots!

I used an aged Shannon chedder on top, but gruyere would also be delicious!

Recipe:
Serves 6-8 people

4 large Parsnips
6 crisp, tart apples like fuji
1 large, or 2 smaller celery roots
8 cloves of garlic- peeled and sliced thinly
4 tablespoons kerrygold butter cut into teaspoon-sized pieces
1 cup thinly sliced cheese- such as Dubliner, Kerry Gold, aged Chedder, or Gruyere
1 cup bread crumbs (optional)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
fresh thyme- several tablespoons chopped, plus more for garnish
salt, pepper

Begin by boiling a large pot of water. While it is heating, begin peeling the celery root- and then slicing it in 1/4 inch slices. When the water boils, add the celery root. Boil for 7-10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel the parsnips and slice them into 1/4 inch slices or rounds. Check the celery root- it should boil until just barely tender- but take it out with a slotted spoon before it's beginning to crumble- then do the same with the parsnips.
While the parsnips boil core and slice the apples.
Heat the oven to 350

With the par-boiled vegetables and the apples set aside, rub the inside of a large baking dish with a sliced clove of garlic- then butter the dish.
Layer the parsnips, celery root and apple- sprinkling garlic and parsley between the layers. When finished, top with the butter and the rest of the parsley and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then add the rest of the garlic.

Then layer the cheese on top. You should have enough to cover it entirely, if you don't, grate more.

Then top the entire thing with the breadcrumbs.

Bake in the oven for at least an hour, or until the cheese is slightly crispy on the edges and the smells overwhelming the kitchen can no longer be resisted!

Persimmon and Pomegrante Salad

Yesterday, I needed to quickly come up with a dish for a food-ecology event I was co-hosting. One of my favorite challenges is the "see what you can make with only what you have" game; this is what I came up with.
I went out to the garden and picked a big basket full of pink lady apples and persimmons. I had gotten a beautiful savoy cabbage from my friend Suchi and a few pomegranates from my friend David's tree.
Fuyu persimmons are the non-astringent variety- they are hard when you pick them and only soften a little- they are not mushy like Hachiya (or Hayachi, as I called them until a few days ago when my friend (and teacher) Tamar made fun of me). It is believed that persimmons picked on the night of a full moon have many more of the small dark brown speckles in them, and those speckles make the persimmons sweeter.
RECIPE:

3 fuyu persimmons- bright orange, slightly soft
1 pomegranate
2 green apples or pink-fleshed apples, chopped into small pieces
1/2 head of Savoy or Napa cabbage thinly sliced
1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper
3/4 cup sunflower seeds.

I simply chopped everything, meanwhile toasting the sunflower seeds in a pan on the stove (shaking regularly to make sure they didn't burn)- then I mixed the seeds in with the fruit and the cabbage, and mixed in the lemon juice and olive oil, and sprinkled the pomegranate seeds on top. The colors were beautiful.


You might also try this with mayonnaise-although the colors might not be as brilliant, or also with toasted walnuts or pepitas instead of the sunflower seeds. Also, some very small pieces of red onion might be nice. Enjoy.