Going places I've never been

I am often not good at anticipating which things I will like or want to do and which I won't. For example, had you asked me a year and a half ago if I would ever want to live in Germany I would have said no. (I stand corrected.) Had you asked me two years ago if I was likely to get married I would have said no. (Ditto on being corrected.) And had you asked me three years ago if I wanted to try cabbage pie...well, you get the picture. But the good thing about thinking you won't like something is that it's all the more enjoyable when it turns out to be seriously good.


Cabbage pie is good. My sister learned the recipe from one of her college roommates and passed it on to me. Her roommate is one of those people who can make a pie crust by just dumping the ingredients in a bowl - no measuring required. While I would love to be this comfortable making pie crusts, it isn't necessary to make her cabbage pie. This pie isn't showy - it's not going to complain if the crust looks less than perfect. All you need aside from the crust is some fresh cabbage (I've used savoy and green, but I bet red would work), olive oil, salt and pepper. There are endless variations to what you can add to the cabbage - hard boiled eggs, potatoes, mushrooms, fresh herbs, or nothing at all. It's all good. My last variation had savoy cabbage, mushrooms and thyme, and it echoed the flavors of my mom's awesome meat pie. It was also more of a galette than a pie, as you can see from the photo, because I was feeling lazy and only wanted to make one crust. The only problem was that the bits of cabbage sticking out got quite brown. The crispy browned bits were tasty but they were edging rather close to burnt, so it's something to watch.

So - for those of you who think you won't like cabbage pie, I urge you to try it once. If you don't like it at least cabbage is cheap and healthy, and if you do - well, thank goodness for surprises (and college roommates).


Cabbage Pie

Pastry for a double-crusted pie (homemade, store-bought, whatever)

For the filling:
1/2 head savoy or green cabbage, thinly sliced (about 1 lb)
olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F/ 190 C. Make sure your crusts are prepped (rolled out, unwrapped, etc.), and put the bottom crust in a standard pie plate, letting the excess crust overhang the dish. (Sarah's roommate always did this in a 9x13" pan, but I don't know how much pastry that requires. Feel free to experiment.) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add a good splash of olive oil to the pan. Add the sliced cabbage, stirring to coat it all in oil and cook until it wilts. Season with salt and pepper and let cool slightly. Add the cabbage to the pie crust, then place the second round of dough on top. Crimp the edges of the crust to seal, and trim excess dough. Cut a few steam vents in the top and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nice and brown. Let cool for about 5 minutes before cutting.