North Croatian Red Cabbage Stew Food

NORTH CROATIAN KOHLRABI STEW (KOLORABA CUSPAJZ)

Steps:

• Peel kohlrabi like you peel apples. Remove leaves (don't throw away baby leaves, you can slice them and put into stew later) and cut kohlrabi like you cut potato for French fry potato, but just little bit thicker.
• Melt lard (or butter) in a pot, add flour and sauté it 1 minute. Add water and make creamy liquid. Add sliced kohlrabi and add water to cover the vegetable. Add salt and pepper and baby leaves if you want.
• Cook about 30 minutes or until kohlrabi softens.
• At the end add sour cream, stir well and serve.

CROATIAN KALE (SAVOY CABBAGE) STEW (KELJ CUSPAJZ)

Steps:

• Wash the savoy cabbage and cut it in 1 inch pieces.
• Preheat the water and when it boils put the savoy cabbage in it and leave it boil for one minute.
• During this operation prepare this: put lard in a pot, heat it and add finely sliced garlic and bacon (pancetta), brown flour in lard (but not too brown).
• Add ground paprika and just few drops of cold water to make "zafrig" (a kind of "sauce veloutè").
• Take out savoy cabbage with hollow spoon, add sliced potato in small cubes and water you have cooked kale in it.
• Season with salt and pepper and cook until potato is soft (10-20 minutes).
• Serve as a side dish to steaks, sausages, dried smoked ham etc.

CROATIAN CABBAGE STEW ( PRISILJENO ZELJE")

Steps:

• Cut the cabbage to narrow strips approximately 5mm wide and 2-5 cm long.
• Heat water with vinegar and when it boils put cabbage in it.
• Cook for 3 minutes.
• During this put sliced bacon (in small cubes) on fat until transparent, add flour and brown it.
• Add cold water, tomato juice.
• Take out cabbage with hollow spoon, and throw the water out.
• Add caraway seeds, season with salt and pepper.
• Cook about 30 minutes or until cabbage softens.
• Serve as a side dish to sausages, pork chops, and similar meat and mashed potato.

NORTH CROATIAN RED CABBAGE STEW

Steps:

• Slice the cabbage into 1 cm wide stripes.
• Melt sugar on lard until brown (caramel).
• Add wine, cabbage, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook gently until sugar melts (when you add wine sugar will become hard - do not worry - it will melt).
• Add water to prevent burning. At first you will think your pot is too small, but eventually the cabbage will get smaller.
• Cook about 45 minutes or until cabbage is soft. Eat with pork chops, sausages or BBQ.

CROATIAN "COBANAC" STEW

Steps:

• Cut horse and beef meat into small pieces (not larger than 2x2 cm). Do the same with potato.
• Finely mince onion.
• Soak dried porcini mushrooms in cold water about 15 minutes, and than cut into small pieces.
• Cut pancetta into small pieces.
• Heat the lard and sauté onion until translucent. Add meat and continue to sauté (covered) 20 minutes. At that point meat will start to leave juices.
• Add paprika, salt, pepper, bay leaf, pancetta and thyme. Stir well and continue to sauté 5 minutes; now add wine, stir and sauté until alcohol evaporates.
• Add potato and water to cover meat and potato. Add mushrooms. Stir and cook on easy fire about 120 minutes.
• If you need to add more salt do it, but do not add additional pepper or hot paprika. If you want it hot, do it at the beginning.
• The stew must be soup-like. You eat it only with spoon. All ingredients must be soft and easy to eat.

NORTH CROATIAN CUCUMBER STEW ("CUSPAJZ OD KRASTAVACA")

Steps:

• Peel the cucumbers and cut them as for salad. Salt it and put aside for 10 minutes.
• Melt lard and add finely minced garlic and flour and sauté it until flour become brownish. Add paprika and stir well. Add cold water and make creamy liquid.
• Squeeze cucumbers with hand to extract bitter liquid and add cucumbers into the pot. Add vinegar, salt and pepper and cover with water.
• Cook not more than 30 minutes. Before serving add sour cream and stir.

NORTH CROATIAN SIMPLE WHITE CABBAGE SALAD

Steps:

• Cut cabbage into thin strips and put into salad bowl. Season cabbage with salt, pepper, vinegar, oil and add some water (more if you do not like so sour or less).
• Mix all ingredients and wait at least 30 minutes before serving. You can cool it in refrigerator if you like it cold.

NORWEGIAN RED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Chop cabbage fine, and put in a big pot.
• Add butter, vinegar, sugar, water and salt.
• Cook for 1hour on low heat.
• Add jelly and cook for 20 minutes longer.