Budapest Pork & Cabbage Bake

 

After having cooked that lovely Roast Pork yesterday, I ended up, of course, with a quantity of leftovers.  I am not one who likes waste, but neither to I want to be eating pork six days in a row, so I lopped off a piece to use today and then froze the rest, along with the gravy for another time.

In the climate of todays economy, one cannot afford to waste anything when it comes to food.  I am making the most of everything I have in my fridge, larder and freezer.  Using up leftovers as much as possible is a great way to cut back on expenses and to prevent waste!

 

I thought about making Tacos or Pork Fried Rice with it, but I really wanted to try something different.   I was craving something a bit heartier and more homey.    I have a book in my cookbook library entitled Twice is Nice by Edna K. Damarell.

I have had it for quite a few years now. There are no photographs, but it contains over 600 wonderful recipes for how to use up all of your leftovers, from soup to nuts and using every cuisine on the planet! It is a fabulous source of inspiration.

 

I may not follow all the recipes to the "T" but I know how to grab a ball and run with whatever inspires me and that is mostly what I do with this book.

So it was with this tasty pork casserole I made today with my leftovers from not only yesterday (the pork) but earlier this week when I had boiled some potatoes and popped some extras into the pot for whatever came up. 

Whenever I boil potatoes I always boil extra, and I always use them, even if it is only for fried potatoes and who would ever turn their nose up at fried potatoes?  NOT ME!  That's who!

 

This went together very quickly and easily.  The cabbage is cooked first in water, and then in cream, along with some herbs and seasonings. 

 

It is then layered in a baking dish with the peeled and sliced potato and slivers of the cooked pork.  Some cheese is sprinkled on top and then I added some crispy salad onions to give it a bit of crunch. I mean who doesn't like a bit of cheesy crunch?

Baked in a moderate oven until everything was well heated through and that cheese is melting down into the cabbage on top, the salad onions all moreishly crispy, this ended up being incredibly delicious!  

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BUDAPEST PORK & CABBAGE BAKE

Simple ingredients, put together in the most delicious way. This was lovely.

• 1/2 medium cabbage, (1 1/2 lb/680g) cored and coarsely shredded
• 1/2 cup (120ml) water or stock
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whipping cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp caraway seed
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 4 to 6 thick slices of cooked pork, cut julienned
• 3 medium boiled potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup (30g) grated Swiss or Cheddar cheese
• a handful of crispy fried onions (the salad topping ones)

 

The type of cabbage that works best for this is the hard white cabbage. I think you could also use a Winter King cabbage or a Sweetheart cabbage. What you want is a cabbage that will stand up and  hold its own and not disintegrate into nothing.

If caraway is not your friend, then leave it out by all means.  You could add almost any other herb and I think they would work fine. Thyme, sage, etc,

 

I think some sliced onion would also work very well in this. I would add one medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced to the cabbage.  

Don't cut the potatoes too thin. You want then to have some body and not get lost amongst everything else.

In the UK you could also use double or heavy cream instead of whipping cream. Whipping cream is the heaviest cream we seem to get here in Canada.  

I cut the pork into 4 thickish slices and then cut the slices crosswise into thin strips.  They were the perfect size for this and did not need any seasoning as the pork had already been well seasoned in cooking the first time around.  

 

HOW TO MAKE BUDAPEST PORK & CABBAGE BAKE

This is quick and very easy.  You are in for a real treat!

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9-inch casserole dish and set aside.

Place the cabbage into a heavy bottomed skillet and add the water. Bring to the boil. Cover and boil until the water has completely evaporated. Check to make sure it doesn't burn. (about 10 minutes)

Add the cream, seasoning, paprika and caraway seed. Bring back to the boil and then cook, uncovered for a further 5 minutes.

 

Place half of the cabbage mixture into the buttered casserole dish. Top with the sliced potatoes, lightly season, then the pork slivers and finally the rest of the cabbage, pouring any juices from the pan over top.

Sprinkle with the cheese and the onions. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese has melted and everything is heated through and bubbling.

This was really delicious and so easy to put together.  The flavors of everything melded together beautifully. I enjoyed with a slice of bread and butter so that I could mop up all of the juices, along with a salad on the side.

I was wishing I had some crusty bread, so if you do have some, enjoy this with that! You won't be sorry!

Some other tasty ways I like to use up leftovers in my kitchen are:

MOM'S BEEF POT PIE -  Whenever mom cooked a roast she always made us a  couple of delicious pot pie with the leftover gravy, meat, potatoes and vegetables.  One would be eaten on the day and the other would be popped into the freezer and frozen for when she needed a supper without having slave all day.  I can tell you when Mom's Pot Pie was on the menu, wasn't anyone complaining about leftovers!

GRANNY'S DEVILED CHICKEN - Leftover cooked chicken. On or off the bone.  You could also use it for leftover turkey or pheasant.  It goes good with any kind of poultry. The pieces of chicken are placed into a baking dish and a spicy paste of brown sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and butter is spread over top of it. This is then baked in a  moderate oven until heated through and glazed. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy and oh so delicious!

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Budapest Pork & Cabbage Bake

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min

A simple yet delicious casserole compose of layers of creamy cabbage, cooked potato and slivers of leftover roast pork. Topped with cheese and crispy onions, then baked, this is a very tasty and different way to use up some leftovers!

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium cabbage, (1 1/2 lb/680g) cored and coarsely shredded
• 1/2 cup (120ml) water or stock
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whipping cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp caraway seed
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 4 to 6 thick slices of cooked pork, cut julienned
• 3 medium boiled potatoes, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup (30g) grated Swiss or Cheddar cheese
• a handful of crispy fried onions (the salad topping ones)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9-inch casserole dish and set aside.
2. Place the cabbage into a heavy bottomed skillet and add the water. Bring to the boil. Cover and boil until the water has completely evaporated. Check to make sure it doesn't burn. (about 10 minutes)
3. Add the cream, seasoning, paprika and caraway seed. Bring back to the boil and then cook, uncovered for a further 5 minutes.
4. Place half of the cabbage mixture into the buttered casserole dish. Top with the sliced potatoes, lightly season, then the pork slivers and finally the rest of the cabbage, pouring any juices from the pan over top.
5. Sprinkle with the cheese and the onions. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese has melted and everything is heated through and bubbling.
6. Some crusty bread goes nicely with this!

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