There are many food traditions associated with the new year. Some people eat twelve grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve; some follow the southern custom of black-eyed peas and cornbread [see our post on that]; others see pork as an omen for prosperity, and still others cook cabbage and noodles. Wha? Cabbage and noodles? That’s a new one, but one we think is at least as appropriate as the others: cabbage indicates good fortune (as in “that’s a lotta cabbage in his wallet”) and noodles, especially long ones, signify long life.
Here’s a recipe that may give our new idea some traction! It’s adapted from Arthur Schwartz’s classic Jewish Home Cooking and we hope you enjoy it. We especially hope our friend Joy likes it since she is our drawing winner for this cookbook, our final giveaway! Thank you, Joy, for supporting our efforts all these years — we wish you good tidings and happy cooking!
- 1 3-pound cabbage (if you use a smaller one, decrease the amount of noodles)
- 5 tablespoons butter (or ¼ cup canola oil)
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more at the end if needed
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more at the end if needed
- 1 pound egg noodles (any shape will do, except fine noodles; we prefer wide or bow ties)
- 2 -3 tablespoons sour cream or cottage cheese (optional)
- Cook the noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside.
- Core the cabbage, shred it finely, wash well, then dry in a salad spinner or clean kitchen towel.
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. (using a whole stick of butter will make this more delicious, but that's up to you!)
- Add the cabbage, onion, salt and pepper, and mix well.
- Cover the pot and let the cabbage steam until wilted, about 10 minutes.
- Toss the mixture, decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and let cook for about 1½ hours (yes, that's right!), tossing about every 20 minutes. If the liquid hasn't evaporated, increase the heat until it does.
- After about 1½ to 2 hours, the cabbage will have begun to brown; raise the heat, toss often, and cook uncovered until the cabbage is a deep brown.
- Add more salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- You can use the cabbage just like this as a vegetable, or toss in your egg noodles and heat it all together.
- Add sour cream or cottage cheese if desired, and stir into the cabbage-noodle mixture.
I sometimes unkosher this by adding diced fried bacon bits to everything else. Delicious.
In our opinion everything is better with bacon! 🙂
Had no idea that this was a traditional new year dish. This is very similar to what I make.. and we had it about 2 weeks ago, except I don’t cook it for 2 hours. As soon as the cabbage is wilted and the noodles are done — we go at it. This recipe looks and sounds fabulous, so I think I will try this recipe the next time.
Let us know what you think when you try it!
Wow!!! Thank you so much!! I think 2020 is going to be a good year!! I can’t wait to try this recipe, since I’ve never made anything quite like it. I’m especially looking forward to all the interesting, new recipes in the cookbook!!
Thanks to both of you for your inspiration and friendship!! I have truly enjoyed reading !!
Sounds like a cousin of a dish called heluski, a favorite of Polish friends.
Interesting, Chris!! Another friend wrote and said it reminded her of the Russian dish called Solyanka that she remembered seeing in the Moosewood Cookbook, but that one used potatoes instead of noodles.