Fast Food Veggies

by Jane Sherry		print version
		print version (graphics)

Grated Potato Fry, Hot Arrowhead Cabbage Salad with Corn



Ingredients

Potatoes
Arrowhead Cabbage
Corn on the cob
Onion
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Try this delicious, super fast & easy way to eat a satisfying summer meal after a hard day of work, with a minimum of fuss. I ate this meal from my share of Roxbury vegetables of the week with a small amount of preparation & an enormous amount of pleasure!

Take one potato per person & wash, leaving skins on & then grate with the large side of a box grater. Heat a heavy skillet over a medium high flame, when hot add a generous amount of a good olive oil. Let get hot for a moment, then spread the potato gratings over the pan & smooth down. Sprinkle with sea salt & move on to the cabbage.

Quarter an arrowhead cabbage or other tender green cabbage, then quickly slice against the grain so that you have finely shredded cabbage. Toss into a pan warming with a dash of olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt & toss again. Then cover & cook over medium heat, turning once or twice until tender- about three to five minutes. You can add cumin seed or fennel seed to the oil before cooking if you like, or if you have tender fresh anise herbs such as anise hyssop, fennel feathers, tarragon, chervil or mexican marigold mint, sweet cicely or cinnamon basil take several & slice into a chiffonade* and put aside to use as garnish after you take off the cabbage.

You can also add the kernels of one ear of corn (per two people) which you've sliced off for kernels, using the back of the knife along the sides to scrape out the kernels & throw those into the cabbage pot or add to the potatoes after they've browned, or cook separately. Or if you're one of those purists, you can just add them raw to the cabbage 'salad'. Toss the corn & cabbage in a bowl & splash on a bit of a good balsamic vinegar to marry all of the flavors.

This should have only taken about four minutes to make the cabbage; then turn your potatoes. You can turn the potatoes two times on each side to cook through, then let them get good and crispy, remove and garnish with fresh herbs, garnish the cabbage salad with your anise herbs, serve with a slice of tomato, or green salad, and you're good to go!

Variation: you can grate a bit of onion on top of the potatoes, after you first put them into the pan. You can always add any other vegetable you have on hand, if it's cut or shredded into small bits, such as zucchini, green beans, peas, etc.

*Chiffonade is a nice way to cut fresh green herbs. Fold leaves in half lengthwise, then take a sharp knife and slice across the folded leaf, perpendicular to the vein in the leaf. This gives very thin slices, imparting a strong floral perfume to any dish to which you add the herbs.

Just say thanks, sit down & enjoy! Bon Appetit!