Cabbage with onions and potatoes, Greek-ish style.

This is one of those posts where I blog a recipe just so I won't forget it exists.  My 15yo son loved this side dish that I threw together out of leftover vegetables, and I want to remember to make it again.

I was making what I call "skillet gyros" last night, because it was the day before grocery shopping and I'd found some ground beef and a package of pita bread in the freezer.  "Skillet gyros" means that I brown the ground beef with nothing but salt and oregano, and I serve it with a sauce I make by stirring together yogurt, garlic, dill, and chopped cucumbers.   

Trust me, it works.

Anyway, I also had three-quarters of a green cabbage and some leftover roasted new potatoes, so I googled "Greek cabbage potatoes" to see what turned up.  I wound up with this composite recipe:

Greek-style cabbage and potatoes (empty fridge edition)

• Half to one green cabbage, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 5-6 cooked red potatoes, diced
• Oregano and salt to taste
• 1 six-ounce can tomato paste
• Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Sauté onion in olive oil until soft in a medium oven-safe skillet with a lid.  Add cabbage and toss to wilt; cover the pan and let steam for a few minutes.  Stir occasionally to avoid sticking and burning, and continue cooking until cabbage begins to soften.  

Add potatoes, tomato paste, oregano, and salt, and stir to combine.  Cover and transfer to oven and bake about 30 minutes.

If you have less time, sauté a little longer and bake it less (or you can even do the whole thing on the stove top).   If you have more time, let it bake longer.

Works great. 

There was one recipe I found that made me wish I had had bell peppers too.  It was here (although the slightly passive-aggressive language about the blogger's parents turned me off some).   Next time!

Comments

[Jenny]

I have half a cabbage in my fridge right now and have no idea what to do with it. Perhaps tomorrow, I will take a crack at this.

[bearing]

I adore cabbage. It has the magical ability to keep in the fridge for more than a week; it is cheap; it is good for you; and despite being a winter vegetable you can make a classic summer coleslaw with it.

It curries, it stir fries, it ferments, it stuffs -- the perfect green vegetable.

[Tabitha]

I agree about cabbage. I hated it as a kid because my mom only boiled it to death with canned corned beef. Now that I am the cook it's a go to for soups, to cook with sausage instead of potatoes, stir fry and so much more! It's filling and goes a long way with 9 mouths to feed. I still don't eat it boiled, though!

[bearing]

It's technically boiled if it's in soup, right?

[GretchenJoanna]

Ah, what I would like to do is make both the dishes you describe, and just dump the gyros on the cabbage and do without the pita bread. Thanks for the inspiration!

[bearing]

That's what my son did! (We were a little short on pita bread.)

[Tabitha]

You are right about technically being boiled in soup! hahaha! I always shred mine so it's not in big leaves and it DEFINITELY tastes different when cooked in broth with lots of other veggies than when it's boiled for HOURS in water or water plus canned corned beef! That is SO gross and smelly!

[Jenny]

I tried it and I didn't use enough cabbage for my taste--that's all I had--but I think it will definitely go into the rotation.

[Margaret in MN]

Recipe looks FABULOUS and your remarks about the original blog post intrigued me enough to go read it.

I agree with your assessment!