There is always something to tell about cabbage, because it was a revered ingredient in salads from the ancient Romans, and in Russian cuisine there were a lot of fast-cooking cabbage recipes for ten centuries. Only, here, a dish called “Provencal cabbage” raises questions: is it cabbage with mayonnaise with the same trade name, but without the characteristic flavor of Provencal cuisine, a special way of cooking cabbage, a Russian or French dish?
The mention of Provence, in any case, sounds tempting, and, given that Mediterranean cuisine is now at the peak of popularity, let us try to figure out how you can combine ordinary white cabbage - a favorite vegetable in Russian cuisine, with the best traditions of French culinary.
Instant Cooking Provencal Cabbage Recipes - Basic Technological Principles
Without an understanding of the features of the Provencal cuisine in the nuances of the recipe for Provencal cabbage is difficult to understand. Cabbage ““ Provence ”” is not the first time that the secrets of French chefs quickly and very organically pass into Russian cuisine. Cabbage in combination with Provencal herbs or sauces is quite a Russian dish, but also in Provence, if they grew white cabbage there, such a salad could become a favorite dish.
Variants of its preparation can be completely different in cooking methods, selection of ingredients, but the unifying detail of all cabbage dishes is Provencal herbs:
Oregano
Marjoram
Thyme (“Bogorodskaya grass”)
Rosemary
Basil
Sage
Mint
Savory (kondari).
Provencal cuisine dishes are simple to prepare, similar to Russian home cooking. But the classic set of spicy herbs immediately indicates that the cook in his culinary work wanted to tell not only about the south of France, not about the north of Italy, where thyme, rosemary, basil and marjoram are present in almost every dish, creating a Mediterranean mood. By the way, mint, savory (not to be confused with thyme!), Sage, mint are favorite seasonings in old Russian cuisine, but here they are more often used to make drinks. The first conclusion: if the name of the dish contains the word “Provencal”, then Provencal herbs must be included in its composition.
To make the dish really look like Provence cuisine, it is better to use not ground spices in beautiful bags, but personally dried herbs, which can be grown without any difficulty in the country, or on a windowsill. In extreme cases, ready-made medicinal herbs can be purchased at the pharmacy: the technology of their preparation in the pharmaceutical industry is more serious, and therefore the aroma is more pronounced.
Passion for Mediterranean dishes may well be explained by the healing properties of the herbs listed, the use of fresh seasonal vegetables, which certainly gives the dishes not only a pleasant fresh taste, but also benefits. If we talk about recipes for quick cooking cabbage, then it is obvious that these are fresh seasonal vegetable salads, which require careful processing in order to preserve vitamins, and immediate consumption.
The difference between the quick recipe for the cabbage (albeit Brussels) and the recipes of Russian cuisine is in the way of cooking. Cabbage in Russian, as a rule, is crumpled, kept in its own juice for pickling, or consumed fresh. Provencal dishes from fresh vegetables are not pickled, but marinated, trying even to mix the salads gently so as not to mash the vegetables, preserving their freshness.
Note that the usual for Russian cuisine, white cabbage in Provencal and, in general, Mediterranean cuisine is not. Therefore, the conclusion suggests itself: the recipe for Provencal cabbage is an invention of Russian housewives who dream of being in the warm climate of the Mediterranean. All vegetable dishes of Mediterranean cuisine look a bit exotic due to the fact that we do not grow olives, and leafy greens are not available in any season, and eggplants - southern vegetables. A set of peppers, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage and spicy herbs is in line with the spirit of the Provencal cuisine, if you add to these ingredients a dressing of garlic, olive oil and dried herbs.
Another feature that you should pay attention to is Provencal cuisine sauces. The fact is that mayonnaise “Provence”, which filled the counters of all food outlets, has nothing to do with the Provencal flavor, although it is based on, as the manufacturer claims, olive oil and yolks. The same ingredients are the main ingredients in the Aioli Provencal sauce, but with one small and very significant difference: the light garlic aroma, Provencal herbs, parsley, and spices are a part of the Provencal sauce. Be sure to pay attention to this when you want to cook cabbage in the Provencal style. Aioli is a universal sauce that blends equally well with fish and seafood, meat, vegetable dishes, and real Provencal sauces are so interesting that they can be used as an independent snack spread on bread. But about the sauces of Provence, in more detail - the next time, but for now - quick recipes for “Provencal cabbage”, in Russian.
Instant Provencal Cabbage Recipe
Ingredients:
Cabbage 0.5 kg
Carrots 100 g
Olive oil 50 ml
Sugar 20 g
Salt - to taste
Provencal herbs (mixture)
Lemon juice 75 ml
Garlic 10 g
Green onions, parsley 100 g
Cooking:
Chop cabbage and carrots, chop finely garlic and fresh herbs. Combine vegetables, mix, trying not to knead them. Prepare a dressing from vegetable oil, lemon juice, add sugar and salt, fresh or dried herbs to it. Optionally, you can add chopped nuts, a mixture of ground peppers. Stir the salad, cover the container with a lid or film, for 5-10 minutes, soak in the refrigerator, and serve.
Fast Food Recipe: Cabbage, Apple, and Cheese Salad with Provencal Sauce
Ingredients:
Cabbage
Apples (winter varieties, sweet and sour)
Carrot
Hard cheese
Lemon
Pepper Mix
Sauce “Aioli”
Salt to taste
For decoration - boiled eggs, parsley
Cooking:
The number of basic ingredients for salad pick arbitrarily. Chop and chop cabbage, apples, carrots and cheese into thin strips. Apples sprinkle with lemon juice. Eggs cut into slices or plates.
The salad can be laid in layers in a large transparent salad bowl or served in batches, in the form of a cocktail, also laying it in glass bowls. Garnish with thin slices of boiled eggs, fresh parsley leaves.
Add spices to the prepared sauce, lemon juice, mix. It can be served separately with salad or added to a dish before serving.
Provence quick-cooking recipe made from cabbage, pepper and tomatoes with provencal herbs
Ingredients:
Peking cabbage 300 g
Cherry (red and yellow) 5-7 pcs.
Salad pepper (green, orange) 2 pcs. Orange 1 pc.
Olives 100 g
Vegetable oil 80 ml
Basil, parsley
Pine nuts 50 g
A mixture of Provencal herbs, ground pepper - to taste
Cooking:
Pepper cut into cubes, olives (seedless) - transverse plates, cherry - slices. Chop the cabbage into strips by removing the previously thick stalks. Peel the orange zest, peel and cut the flesh into cubes.
Combine all the ingredients in a deep salad bowl, mix gently, trying not to mash the vegetables. Season with herbs, olive oil, and ground black pepper.
Instant cabbage recipe - “Provence” in Russian
The recipe of this salad is a favorite and well-known, but its taste can become completely unrecognizable, thanks to the Provencal herbs and the “zest”.
Ingredients:
Fresh cucumber 200 g
Young (or Beijing) cabbage 300 g
Parsley 120 g
Olive oil 50 ml
Garlic 15g
Provencal herbs (dry mix) 30 g
Dry wine, white 70 ml
Grapes (white nutmeg) 150 g
Cooking:
Combine wine, olive oil, chopped garlic and spicy blend. Mix well, let it brew, so that the aroma of the herbs is better combined with the oil. You can pour the refill into the jar, cover with a lid, and gently heat a couple. Cool the mixture without opening the lid.
Pick your hands with parsley, cabbage leaves, cut cucumber into thin slices. Add grapes to the salad. Stir and season.
Instant Provence Cabbage Recipe with Carrots
Ingredients:
White cabbage 400 g
Red carrot 150 g
Apple vinegar 70 ml
Vegetable oil 80 ml
Pepper
Sugar
Salt
Herbs, Provencal 30 g
Garlic 15g
Cooking:
Chop carrots and cabbage thinly. Prepare a sweet and sour dressing by combining the butter with sugar, pepper, salt and a mixture of herbs. Pour over the salad, stir and let it brew for about twenty minutes, covering the salad bowl with film. When serving, garnish with fresh parsley.
Fast Food Recipe - Provencal Red Cabbage with Canned Green Beans and Tuna
Ingredients:
Leek 90g
Asparagus beans 120 g Red cabbage 200 g
Mayonnaise 60g
Lemon juice 80 ml
Garlic
Provencal herbs
Tuna in own juice 300 g
Ground pepper
Cooking:
Smash the canned fish into pieces. Flip the asparagus through a colander. Thinly chop cabbage, leek. Combine all the ingredients of the salad. Add mayonnaise with garlic, lemon juice (you can add fresh zest), ground pepper and Provençal mix. Stir the sauce and season the salad before serving.
Quick Recipes: Provencal Cabbage - Healthy Cooking Tips
To prepare salads from fresh vegetables, choose summer and autumn cabbage varieties: its leaves are more juicy, contain less coarse fiber.
Salt, sugar and sour ingredients accelerate the release of vegetable juice. Therefore, add the sauce or dressing to the salad just before serving - this will preserve the fresh look of the dish.
To make the filling more fragrant, make a blank: put fresh herbs in the cleaned oil, chop them up first, warm the oil, cool it without opening the bottle or jar, and remove the container in a dark place. After a couple of months, strain the oil, and use for cooking any dishes. Fragrant oil will decorate salads from fresh vegetables.
