Caramelized Cabbage Spaghetti Recipe (4 Elements)

My family has a home on Cape Cod that we go to once in a while and to elucidate it as spartan may be extraordinarily generous. As a chef, the kitchen is a nightmare. The knives are horrible, the pans are an abomination, and the fridge is shockingly empty.

After we go up for an prolonged stretch, we’ll stock the pantry and fridge with merely adequate meals to get by. Not solely do I hate to waste meals, nevertheless leaving trash behind isn’t an chance, and utilizing dwelling with a bag of garbage won’t be a pleasant choice to spend 4 hours in website guests.

After we’re there just for a protracted weekend, I choose to downside myself to buy merely adequate meals to get by for our hold. It’s like my very private mannequin of Choppedin addition to my kids are the judges. Scary!

One present weekend whereas we had been there, I opened my fridge to find a sad head of cabbage left over from a go to to 1 amongst our favorite native farms. I moreover found some butter that wished to be used up and a generous hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano. I scrounged by the pantry and uncovered some spaghetti and knew merely what to make: caramelized cabbage spaghetti.

A Family Meal Everyone Can Love

Cabbage is the type of vegetable I can on a regular basis feed my kids. When cooked for a really very long time, it’ll get further sweet and doesn’t ship out any inexperienced vegetable crimson flags; it blends seamlessly into the spaghetti.

Impressed by a family favorite, Deb Pearlman’s Zucchini Butter Spaghetti, this pasta dish has develop right into a go-to weeknight pasta dish for these evenings after I don’t know what to prepare dinner dinner. It’s great quick, solely requires a handful of parts, is filled with greens, and all people will eat it. What additional would possibly you ask for?

How To Make My Caramelized Cabbage Spaghetti

For 4 to 6 servings, you’ll need:

• 1 medium cabbage (about 2 1/2 kilos)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for pasta water
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed crimson pepper flakes, non-obligatory
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly flooring black pepper
• 1 pound spaghetti (or pasta of other)
• 4 ounces (120g) Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 1 cup)
• 2 tablespoons chopped latest parsley, non-obligatory

Ship a giant pot of water to a rolling boil over extreme heat. Halve and core the cabbage, then thinly shred.

In a giant saucepan or large, deep skillet, add the butter and soften over medium heat. Add the cabbage, salt, crimson pepper (if using) and black pepper. Put together dinner, stirring often, for about 20 minutes, or until the cabbage has cooked down significantly and is deeply caramelized. If it turns into too dry as a result of it cooks, add a splash or two of the pasta water to forestall it from sticking and to deglaze the pan.

Within the meantime, as quickly because the pasta water reaches a boil, salt generously and add the pasta. Put together dinner until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.

Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan with the cabbage along with the Parm and about 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water. Reduce the heat to low, and prepare dinner dinner, stirring repeatedly, until the pasta is creamy and the cheese has melted. Add considerably additional pasta water as wished to create a creamy sauce. Take away from the heat and garnish with latest parsley (if desired) sooner than serving.

Change leftovers into an airtight storage container and retailer throughout the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Add a splash of water sooner than reheating to help loosen the sauce.

Straightforward Tweaks to This Recipe

I’ve used this related recipe with numerous pasta shapes, nevertheless my kids favor spaghetti. Be completely happy to swap it for irrespective of kind you’ve got gotten obtainable. I like using inexperienced cabbage, nevertheless any head of cabbage you possibly can expend will work properly. Merely make sure that to shred it thinly and prepare dinner dinner it until it is great caramelized and sweet! (Remember that crimson cabbage will flip the pasta an attention-grabbing shade.)

If I’m feeling fancy, I am going to crisp up about two ounces of bacon or pancetta throughout the pan first and use the fat relatively than a couple of of the butter to caramelize the cabbage. Then I’ll prime the pasta with the crisp pork sooner than serving.