Easy Sautéed Cabbage with Garlic

Does anyone ever think about making stir fried cabbage as a side dish for, well, pretty much anything? Hahahaha, I know it’s not exactly the most common thing to reach for, but every single time I make it I am pleasantly surprised by just how good it turns out. It’s simple, it’s quick, it’s nutritious, and it is absolutely delicious. Cabbage cooked this way is a lot like when you boil a big head of cabbage and drizzle it generously with olive oil, those same wonderful aromas, just faster and more intense.

I actually end up making this pretty regularly, and more often than not it starts with leftover cabbage, those tougher stalks and extra leaves that are just sitting in the fridge waiting for a purpose. Sometimes I slice it thin, sometimes I cut it into bigger chunks, it really just depends on my mood at the time. It works great as a side dish or even as a replacement for a salad, super easy and genuinely tasty. Let’s get into it!

Easy Sautéed Cabbage with Garlic

Servings: 2
Time: 25mins
Difficulty: Easy
Rating: ★★★★★
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Nothing like a good stir fried cabbage to go alongside whatever you've got on the plate! It's one of those recipes that works perfect every time ;D

Ingredients

Cabbage – 1/2
Onion – 1 small
Garlic – 3 cloves
Olive Oil – A drizzle
Pepper – A pinch
Salt – A pinch

Directions

Finely chop both the onion and garlic into julienne strips, place them in a large frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté over medium-low heat.
While the onion caramelizes, chop the cabbage, cutting the leaves into wide strips and finely julienne the stems so they cook completely.

When the onion is caramelized, add the cabbage and season with another drizzle of olive oil and another pinch of salt and pepper.
Stir and cook until the cabbage releases most of its water, then cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally.

When the cabbage is fully cooked, taste and adjust the salt and pepper, and it’s ready to serve! Enjoy.

Notes & Tips: Cut the cabbage into thin, uniform strips so everything cooks evenly and turns tender at the same time. That way you avoid ending up with some leaves still stiff while others are tender, not ideal, right? ;D

Don’t rush the initial sauté. Let the garlic and onion fully caramelize before adding the cabbage, because this makes all the difference in the final flavor of the dish. Cabbage on its own doesn’t have a whole lot of aroma, so the caramelized onion base is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here.

The recipe uses green heart cabbage (couve coração in Portugal), but you can use any variety you like. Just keep in mind that the tougher and denser the cabbage, the longer it’s going to need to cook, so for firmer varieties, make sure to slice it nice and thin to cook faster.

You can also customize the seasoning to your taste. A splash of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce works really well to boost the umami flavor of the whole dish, it doesn’t always have to be this simple stripped-back version.

This is a fantastic side dish that is super easy to make and incredibly delicious, ready in under 30 minutes and requiring almost no effort at all. It is also one of the best ways to make use of leftover cabbage, whether it’s those tougher outer leaves or half a head sitting in the back of the fridge. Nothing goes to waste, and the result is far better than you’d ever expect!

This recipe for Easy Sautéed Cabbage with Garlic was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Couve Refogada Tenra e Cremosa foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.