Cabbages (Choux)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart heavy saucepan
• •12-inch sauté pan with fitted lid
• •Large colander
• •Sharp chef's knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose one route

   Set out only the cabbage and branch ingredients you intend to cook; each quantity makes four side-dish servings. Follow one of Steps 2 through 8, then finish with Step 9. Remove bruised outer leaves, but keep any sound tender leaves from cauliflower, broccoli, or kohlrabi, because the source treats them as vegetables in their own right.

   This is a classification, not an instruction to cook seven cabbages at once. One properly chosen and properly cooked chou is the complete lesson.
2. 2

   Warm the choucroute

   For the white route, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the drained choucroute and 1/2 cup of the braising water, cover, and warm gently for 15 minutes, turning it twice so the strands heat evenly. Uncover and cook until no water pools beneath it, then fold in the remaining butter. Taste before adding salt, since fermentation has already seasoned the cabbage. If the acidity bites too sharply, rinse one-third of the choucroute briefly, squeeze it dry, and mix it back in. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Braise the red cabbage

   For the red route, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a wide covered pan. Add the shredded cabbage and 1 teaspoon of the salt, then turn it through the butter for 5 minutes until it glistens and begins to settle. Add 1 tablespoon of the vinegar and all 3/4 cup of the braising water. Cover and cook gently for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring twice, until tender but still distinct. Uncover, reduce away the remaining liquid, and finish with the last butter and vinegar. Serve hot as a vegetable, cool as an hors-d’œuvre, or offer a smaller spoonful as a condiment. If the pan dries before the cabbage softens, add water by the tablespoon; if anything catches, move the clean cabbage to another pan and leave the scorched layer behind.

4. 4

   Braise the Savoy

   For the Savoy route, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a wide pan with a lid. Lay in the wedges cut-side down and let them color for 3 to 4 minutes, then turn them onto the other cut side. Add the braising water and 1 teaspoon of the salt, cover, and cook over gentle heat for 18 to 22 minutes, turning once, until a knife slips through the core without resistance. Uncover and reduce the liquid until it clings lightly to the leaves, then add the remaining butter and spoon the glaze over the wedges. If the cabbage is tender while liquid still sloshes in the pan, lift the wedges out before reducing; return them only for the final butter.

5. 5

   Boil the greens

   For kale or spring greens à l'anglaise, bring the boiling water and remaining salt to a full boil in a large pot. Add the greens and cook uncovered until tender, about 4 to 6 minutes for spring greens or 6 to 10 minutes for mature kale. Drain thoroughly, press out free water with the back of a spoon, and return the greens to the dry pot with all the butter. Toss over medium heat until each leaf shines. If the greens have gone softer than intended, chop them finely and beat in the butter; serve them as tender chopped greens instead of pretending they still have bite. Never apologize at your own table.

6. 6

   Cook flowers and leaves

   For cauliflower or broccoli à l'anglaise, bring the salted boiling water back to a full boil. Add cauliflower florets for 6 to 8 minutes, or broccoli florets for 3 to 5 minutes, adding the tender leaves for the final 2 minutes. Drain at once and return everything to the empty pot over low heat for 30 seconds, turning gently so clinging water evaporates. Add the butter and coat without breaking the florets. If they become too soft, crush them coarsely with the butter and serve at once; a good buttery purée is better than a watery floret.

7. 7

   Butter the sprouts

   For Brussels sprouts, boil them in the salted water for 6 to 9 minutes, depending on size, until a knife enters the center with slight resistance. Drain very well. Melt the butter in a wide sauté pan, add the sprouts, and turn them for 3 to 4 minutes until glossy, with a few cut faces taking a butter-gold edge. If they enter the pan waterlogged, spread them in one layer and leave them undisturbed until the moisture cooks away; stirring constantly only keeps them wet.

8. 8

   Treat kohlrabi as turnips

   For kohlrabi, peel the bulbs deeply enough to remove every fibrous layer, then cut them into even 3/4-inch cubes. Boil the cubes in the salted water for 10 to 14 minutes, adding the chopped young leaves for the final 4 minutes. Drain thoroughly and turn both bulbs and leaves through the butter over medium heat until coated and bright. If a cube remains stringy, the peeling was too timid; trim away the fibrous edge and simmer it a little longer. Higher heat won't soften a tough outer layer.

9. 9

   Finish and serve

   Taste the chosen preparation only after its excess water has gone and the butter has coated it; this is when salt can be judged honestly. Transfer it to a warmed serving dish, carrying any reduced buttery juices with it, and bring it straight to the table. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy by method. Dense red cabbage tolerates slicing and a covered braise, crinkled Savoy catches butter between its leaves, and fresh sprouts should feel firm and tightly closed. A cabbage chosen for the wrong job makes the cook work twice as hard.
• •For the white route, buy prepared choucroute made from cabbage and salt. The original entry expected fermentation to be complete before service, so ready-fermented cabbage is the honest pantry equivalent, not a shortcut around the dish.
• •À l'anglaise needs more water than seems economical. A crowded little pot loses its boil, and the vegetables stew in dull green water; if your pot is small, cook in two batches and let the water return to a full boil between them.
• •Frozen broccoli, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts are an honorable out-of-season choice. Cook them directly from frozen, begin checking a few minutes early, and dry them especially well before the butter finish.
• •Choucroute welcomes a dry Alsatian Riesling. Red or Savoy cabbage suits a light red, while the buttered green preparations are happiest beside roast chicken, pork, or sausages without any further ornament.

Advance Preparation

• •Red cabbage, Savoy, and choucroute can be cooked one day ahead. Reheat gently with a tablespoon of water, then add a small piece of fresh butter once the liquid has reduced.
• •Kale, spring greens, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi can be trimmed earlier in the day. Keep them dry and cold, with the cut vegetables in separate covered containers so their different aromas remain distinct.
• •For a delayed service, cook an à l'anglaise vegetable until barely tender, cool it promptly, drain it thoroughly, and finish it in butter just before the meal.
• •Choucroute made from a whole white cabbage requires a separate fermentation project. Prepare it well ahead or use good ready-fermented choucroute; the fermenting time is pantry work, not part of this evening's cooking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 205g)