Use your cabbage cores; make cabbage "latkes"

[visciole]

OK, so I am one of those people who hate throwing food out. And the other day I ran out of potatoes when I wanted a potato pancake (and seriously, when do I ever NOT want a potato pancake?), so I thought to myself, Hey, this cabbage core is about the same texture as a potato, why the heck not?

So I grated it up, added salt, flour, and egg, and voila: cabbage pancakes. They were good!

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

I'll be on a strict budget this month and next month so your thread got me to thinking. I could see using other cores/stems too. I just cut up some cauliflower and was thinking how the stem would probably go good w/shredded cabbage and even adding a shredded broccoli stem. A variation I had on this once was a tempura'd veggie pancake. Now I am salivating. Thanks for the inspiration.

[greygarious]

If you live in a Trader Joe's area, look for the last of the stalks of Brussels sprouts this month. $3.49 for what yields a gallon of them. Plus, I found that the horizontal spokes that stick out from the stalk can be sliced into half-inch pieces and steamed until tender and delicious. I read that the stalk itself is delicious if pressure-cooked until soft enough to trim the woody exterior down to the broccoli-like, tender core. Possibly boiling or microwaving would soften it too - I did not try since I was already swimming in sprouts!

[greygarious]

I make a lot of slaw and cabbage soups for which I shred or thinly slice the core. I also use my cauliflower cores and broccoli stems. I often mix sauteed cabbage with mashed potatoes so it wasn't a big leap to shred cabbage leaves/core into the potatoes when I make latkes. A year ago I ordered cabbage powder with the idea of putting it into spaetzle or gnocchi, but when it arrived, I couldn't think why I'd wanted it. I finally remembered recently but haven't done it yet.

You can also make latkes using winter squash, turnips, beets, carrots, and/or parsnips, alone or in combination with white or sweet potatoes. There are lots of recipes online.

[operagirl]

Cabbage cores are good sliced thin and thrown into any simmered vegetable curry. Throw 'em in, don't throw 'em out! =)

[ChiliDude]

I'm with you when it comes to using all edible parts of plant and animal matter. I make minestrone using cabbage. I quarter a head of cabbage and then slice the core out of each quarter. The core sections are then slice them very thin. Then the thin slices get tossed in with the rest of the ingredients. There's no good reason to get rid of healthy fiber. However, I do not make latkes. I leave that pleasure to my eldest daughter who shares the potato latkes with me.

[Will Owen]

We always got chunks of the heart as a treat (a little salt, yum!), a practice which I have carried with me into my cooking adulthood, so I'm not sure I'll ever have enough spare cabbage core to make a meaningful latke from. Nice to think about, though.

[FoodFuser]

Good there are others of lovers of core of the cabbage.

[Will Owen]

The best were of course when we had cabbages from Grandpa Owen's garden. So sweet and zippy. Supermarket cabbage is at best just good enough to evoke memories of better.

[FoodFuser]

It is hard to grow cabbages, here Oklahoma,
as quick sprint of our springs leads to bolting.

But thank you for image both Grandpa and garden,
as blends more than just crunch of the core of the cabbage.

[bushwickgirl]

Interesting tip. Wonder if I could freeze the shredded cores, as one usually isn't very large...

[visciole]

True, it was from a large cabbage, and I added a little bit of the leaf cabbage that was clinging to the cores. I would think you could combine it with potato or onion as well.