10 Cabbage Recipes for Those Tired of Cauliflower

Shred a cabbage, stir in some mayo or yogurt and squeeze a lime over the top, and you've made the crunchy, tangy topping every good taco deserves. Let it sit for at least an hour so the cabbage softens enough to cling to the tortilla instead of bouncing off it. Pile it on chicken, carnitas or fish and you'll never go back to lettuce that goes limp before the second taco.

Brown some ground beef with an onion, stir in rice, tomatoes and broth, then pile on chopped cabbage. Everything simmers in one skillet, so you skip the part where you wrestle floppy, steaming leaves around a filling like you’re folding a fitted sheet. A spoonful of sour cream on top is optional, but nobody’s stopping you.

Slice a head of cabbage into thick slabs, brush them with olive oil and garlic and roast at 400 degrees until the edges turn brown and crackly. Keep the core in so the slices hold together and resist the urge to poke them while they roast. Those crispy edges are the best part, like the corner piece of a lasagna or brownie pan.

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Blanch the cabbage until it softens, then mix it with grated onion, flour, an egg and a handful of cheese. Fry small rounds in a hot pan until both sides turn crisp and golden. Finish it off with a drizzle of okonomi sauce and zigzag mayo across the top like you're signing a priceless work of art.

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Thinly slice a red cabbage, pour a hot vinegar brine over the top and let the jar do the hard part. Red cabbage has the sturdiest crunch of any variety, so it stays snappy while the color fades from dull purple to electric hot pink. Pile it on tacos, a burger or a leftover chicken sandwich and every bite gets a sharp, crunchy lift.

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Brown sliced kielbasa, soften an onion and pile in the cabbage with a splash of water so it steams down. It looks like far too much for the pan at first, but don't worry it'll shrink like a wool sweater in a hot dryer. Toss it with a tangy mustard vinaigrette and the only thing left to do is fight for the last piece of kielbasa.

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Colcannon is mashed potatoes with cabbage folded through, and Irish cooks traditionally hid rings and coins in it at Halloween. That makes it a fitting dish for your festivities and a handy bit of trivia for the table. Sauté the cabbage in butter, fold it into the mash and set a pat of butter on top to melt into a little yellow puddle.

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Brown ground pork or turkey with garlic and ginger, toss in shredded cabbage and splash on soy sauce. It tastes like the mall food court egg roll you lived on in 1992, only without the fryer or the grease-spotted paper bag. Spoon it over rice and finish with sesame seeds or green onions.

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Slice the red cabbage, add a chopped tart apple, a splash of vinegar and a spoonful of brown sugar and let it simmer low until soft and glossy. The vinegar keeps the color ruby instead of letting it slump to a sad blue-gray. Spoon it next to sausages or pork and the sweet and sour does the work of a sauce.

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Salt napa cabbage until it goes limp, toss it with chili flakes, garlic, ginger and green onions, then pack it into a jar. Leave the jar on the counter for a day or two and watch the bubbles creep up the glass like a lava lamp that smells like garlic. Pile it on rice with a fried egg or stir it into scrambled eggs.

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