Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Leon-inspired purple cabbage and beans



Sometimes, mid week, you just need something simple. Easy, quick, nutritious, comforting, and simple. No fuss, no fancy ingredients, and hardly any time.

This is the first recipe I've adapted from our new Leon cookbook (the one I ordered for Christmas after we ate and enjoyed Leon food in London) and it fulfilled all those requirements.



My adaptations from the original recipe were quite extensive. This may be summed up by the original dish being titled spring greens. It included white cabbage and peas, and did indeed look green in the book.

My version was clearly not green. I used purple cabbage, omitted the peas, and added white beans (except they ended up purple). I did retain the caraway seeds of the original recipe, and am glad I did so - I think they added a subtle flavour that brought the dish together. It's the first time I've used caraway seeds and I'm now quite quite keen to experiment further with them.


We had this for dinner the first night with quinoa (me) and baked potato (Mr Bite), and I've been enjoying the leftovers for lunch this week. It's a good dish for going the distance. I imagine it would pair well with pasta too, or rice, or any other grain base.

Leon-inspired purple cabbage and beans
Adapted from the spring greens recipe in the Leon Ingredients & Recipes cookbook
Makes a side dish or meal accompaniment for 4 to 6
Vegan


Ingredients
1/2 a purple cabbage, roughly chopped
1 medium leek, sliced
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans (I used great northern beans but any white beans would work)
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 bunch fresh mint, chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, a dash of each

Method
In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup water to boiling and then add the cabbage, leek and caraway seeds. Cover and simmer over medium heat for ~4 minutes.

Add the spring onions and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, for a further 3 - 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the white beans and vinegar and seasonings. Keep over low heat for a further 1 - 2 minutes, then serve with rice, quinoa, or baked potato.


I wasn't expecting the colour to be quite so vivid, but I am glad it turned out that way. Food is more fun colourful!


Do you use caraway seeds regularly? What about cabbage? 

28 comments:

  1. I love cabbage cooked up any which way and this sounds awesome!!

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    1. Thanks Gabby! I think I need to buy cabbage more often :)

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  2. The color alone makes me want to make this!
    This looks just delicious!

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  3. I can never think of really great ways to use cabbage, so this post is just perfect for me! Can't wait to give it a try!

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    1. Oh good! I'm sure if you do use it you'll create a twist that I then want to try in turn ;)

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  4. Mmmmm... I just bought a head of purple cabbage to make wraps with, and now I totally have to try this! I've never cooked with caraway seeds before... in fact, I'm not even sure where I'd buy them! What do they look/taste like?

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    1. They almost look a bit like flax seeds, but smaller...and aren't the same in taste. It's actually hard to describe the taste but they're used as a key ingredient in rye bread and work in sweet dishes as well as savoury. I recommend trying them :-) I found mine at a bulk food store but suspect they're available at regular supermarkets too.

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  5. Your purple cabbage looks so pretty. I have long coveted the Leon cookbook for its beautiful cover.

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    1. It is a gorgeous book, in cover and pictures, even before you get to the food.

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  6. I love Leon's food! This version looks delicious. I love purple cabbage, but it stains everything!

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  7. mmmmmmmmmmmm purple food :-) Has to be good if it's purple!

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  8. Pretty! I've never had purple cabbage, but this looks amazing.

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    1. I'm a pretty recent convert to it too, but now I like it much more than white cabbage for the colour.

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  9. ooh I do love purple cabbage in salads!

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  10. love the colour - am sure if the folks at leon saw it they would love your version

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    1. They do seem to be in to bright colours, so I hope so!

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  11. What a great cover for a cookbook. It looks really retro. Your cabbage dish has the most beautiful colour - so pretty xx

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    1. Thank you Charlie, and you are right, it is a gorgeous book cover :-)

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  12. Oh how I love purple cabbage with caraway and vinegar! Such joyous flavours, always :)

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    1. I do sense they'll be a mix that won't let me down!

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  13. Who, or perhaps what, is this Leon you speak of? I saw this book on your GoodReads, and tried to find out but got distracted easily. I enjoy caraway, but often don't think to use it, and in fact have none on hand at the moment. I like that it works in savoury or sweet things, and I like the depth it gives to sweets.

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    1. I think I'm going to be experimenting with caraway much more now I have some - it sounds like it is a very versatile ingredient.

      Leon is a UK food chain that has a focus on fresh and sustainable food; we only ate in one when we were in London but both loved our lunches and also just the stance of the restaurant. When I saw they had a book I had to buy it! Half is devoted to ingredients including what to look for, what pairs with what, different varieties of legumes and other things...and then the other half has recipes. It's great :-)

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  14. So pretty! This sounds so simple and delicious, Kari - two essential elements to my style of cooking, that's for sure :)

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  15. Wow the colour of the cabbage is so vibrant! I have struggled knowing what to do with cabbage in the past. When I signed up for an organic veg box that's all I seemed to get and didn't have any good recipes, so I'll definitely remember this one!
    Thank you for sharing this with Healthy Vegan Fridays. Check back to see if you were one of the Top 3! We hope to see you again today. You can submit a post from Friday to end of Tuesday:
    http://www.greenthickies.com/healthy-vegan-friday-30/

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