Eileen Kahan

This is an old Russian recipe from my mother-in-law's childhood.  She made it for us many times and I now make it for our family.  It is wonderful on a cold day, as a side dish, with a baked potato, as part of the main course.  Some of us enjoy it cold as well the next day.  It is quite simple and the amounts are approximate.  As someone said, it's like cabbage soup without the soup!

Food Editor's note: This dish really is easy and it is quite delicious.  The cabbage flavor is mellowed by the long cooking.  I think it would taste delicious with my mother-in-law's caraway beef stew!

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
a large Spanish onion, diced
a medium head of green cabbage, shredded (not too finely)
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 small can tomato paste

Use a heavy-bottomed pot (actually I use my pressure cooker pot) so the cabbage and tomato sauce will not burn.  Spray with oil and add the vegetable oil to bottom of pot.  Heat the oil, add the onion, and sauté slowly, stirring occasionally.  Add the cabbage to the pot after onion is soft.  Turn heat down to low and add the lemon juice, brown sugar, and tomato paste.  Mix ingredients as best you can.  Cover pot and cook very slowly, uncovering to stir every 15 minutes or so.  Add a little water if needed.

I let this cook for at least 2 hours on a very low heat, at which point the cabbage should be very soft (but not mushy).  Transfer the cabbage to the top of a double boiler to keep warm until ready to serve.  If you'd like, add golden raisins about half way through the cooking cycle.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Eileen Kahan will soon be the mother-in-law of a ShalomBoston.com webmaster.  She practices psychiatry in Lexington and has contributed this recipe in return for the many successes she has had with the ShalomBoston.com food page.