Buttered Cabbage with Caraway
Shredded cabbage steamed in butter and a splash of water, the caraway toasted first so it tastes of rye bread rather than soap.
Why it works
Caraway dropped into foaming butter before the cabbage arrives loses its sharp medicinal edge and turns warm and faintly aniseed, which is the difference between this and the version people remember from school. A splash of water under a lid turns the pan into a steamer, so the cabbage softens without browning; the last minute uncovered drives that water back off.
Method
- Melt the butter in a wide pan over a medium heat until it foams. Add the caraway and onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until the seeds smell toasty and the onion has gone slack.
- Add all the cabbage at once with the salt and water. It looks like too much for the pan; press it down, lid on, and leave it 3 minutes. Start this as the main goes under the grill.
- Lid off, heat up, and stir for a final minute until the pan is dry and the cabbage is silky at the edges but still has bite in the middle. Overshoot and you are into cabbage-water territory.
- Off the heat, stir through the vinegar, plenty of black pepper and the dill. Taste and add more salt; cabbage takes a surprising amount.
For the toddler
Before the caraway goes into the butter at step 1, lift a spoonful of the buttery onion into a small pan with a handful of shredded cabbage and a splash of water. Lid on for the same three minutes, and no salt or vinegar at the end. Chop their cabbage short so there are no long strands, and give it an extra minute so it is tender all the way through rather than still crisp.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Savoy for a looser, greener result, or half cabbage and half grated carrot. Fennel seeds if caraway is a step too far.
A food processor slicing disc shreds a whole cabbage in 20 seconds.
Sausages and mustard, roast pork, or a lentil and mushroom stew.
Keeps 3 days chilled. Fry it hard next day with a cold boiled potato for a two-person bubble and squeak.