Polish Fried Cabbage {Kapusta Zasmażana}
It’s no news that Poles eat a lot of cabbage. Its cheap and it stores well in the cool basement storage. My grandma’s neighbor grew cabbage and she’d always buy a few “meters” for the winter. I’m not sure how much that meant, but it was enough to feed a small army through the winter. Fried Cabbage
Part of it would be made into sauerkraut, and the rest used up for soup, gołąbki {stuffed cabbage}, bigos {Hunter’s Stew} or this belly warming autumn or winter dish.
Eat it over potatoes, add sausage or pork-chops or both and dinner is done!
Here, is how you make it!
Polish Fried Cabbage {Kapusta Zasmażana}
Ingredients
- 1 medium cabbage (about 2 lbs / 1 kg)
- 1 ½ c / 350 ml water
- ½ tsp salt
- 10 whole peppercorns and allspice berries (each)
- ½ c / 120 ml white vinegar (4%)
- 4 thick slices of smoked bacon (about 6 oz / 170 g)
- ½ a medium onion, chopped
- 3 tbsp / 40 g of butter
- 3 tbsp of all-purpose flour
- ½ c fresh dill
Instructions
Chop cabbage, as you would to make coleslaw. Place in a medium pot, add water, salt, peppercorns and allspice berries. Cook cabbage for only about 5 minutes. You want to preserve some crunch. Add vinegar, stir and set aside.
Chop bacon and sauté in a separate pan. When the edges start getting a little brown, add chopped onion. Sauté together for another few minutes, until nice and golden brown. Transfer into the cabbage mixture, reserving as much fat as possible.
To the now empty bacon pan, add butter and flour to make roux. Whisk while it heats for about 45-60 seconds. Transfer to cabbage mixture.
Turn cabbage to low heat and cook uncovered until some of the water evaporates and it thickens, for about 10-15 minutes.
Add chopped dill and taste. Add salt, if needed. Serve hot.
Enjoy as part of dinner, on a bed of potatoes or your favorite potato dumplings. You can also serve with sausage or a pork chop or as a side to your Thanksgiving dinner.
There is also a spring version of this recipe, and it tastes just slightly fresher, as it’s made from “young” cabbage: młoda kapusta. This means that the cabbage was freshly cut and sold shortly after that, without being stored over long period of time. In Europe that normally happens in late spring, early summer. You can very easily tell the difference between “young” and “old” cabbage just by looking at it. The young cabbage has a lot more dark green leaves that stick out and away from the head. They are a lot looser and a will cook a lot faster. Cabbage that has been stored through the fall and/or winter is a lot paler, with leaves tightly stuck together to form the head.
Try this recipe now, and again in the spring or summer. Pay attention to cook time, as the “young” cabbage may soften a lot faster. Once overcooked, it will become mushy, and you don’t want that. And remember, vinegar stops the cooking process, so use it to your advantage.
Good luck! Let me know how it turns out! Leave me a comment below!
Smacznego!!
Anna
My cookbooks!
Visit my YouTube channel
Support us by shopping in our merch store!!
WANT TO GET MY NEXT RECIPE VIA EMAIL? TYPE IN YOUR EMAIL BELOW:
Another great, easy, healthy recipe! I used olive oil to make the roux, just to try it – worked well.
Made this Anna, but I cheated and added the whole pound of bacon! Was it ever good and thank you for the recipe!😋
That’s my kind of cheating! 😉
You took me back to my very early childhood in my babcia’s kitchen with this recipe. There are no words to describe the taste of fond memories that it brought me. Dziekuje Anna.
You took me back to my very early childhood in my babcia’s kitchen with this recipe. There are no words to describe the taste of fond memories that it brought me. Dziekuje Anna!
I know the feeling. Flavors and memories somehow live deep in out brain and such a small thing can trigger so many emotions. I know exactly what that feels like. ❤️
My Polish dad LOVES this! I didn’t grow up bear his family, so I love that you make these dishes simply and that you are familiar with American ingredients. Thank you, Mark and Anna!!! Love your channel! I make this all the time now!
Mom called it Kapusta ,,, used salt pork slow fried then added shredded cabbage sauce till tender then drained canned sour kraut rinsed if to salty. covered and cooked medium low heat. was served with her home made pork kielbasa and a potato kielbasa. wish I had her recipe for the potato on. family Mom Italian. Dad Lithuanian Polish me really good foodie , associate was James , Jimmy , Beard 1970s. been cooking since 6 years old. first dish was fried eggs. love sea food live on a great Texas Lake
Cabbage is amazingly versatile.