Cabbage cut into chunks and slow-cooked with onion and a little smoke until silky and sweet. The budget vegetable of the soul-food table, and a New Year's promise of folding money.
Cabbage was cheap, kept well in a cold cellar, and fed big families through lean winters. On New Year's Day it joins greens and black-eyed peas as the food of prosperity — cabbage for the dollar bills, peas for the coins. It is the vegetable of getting by and getting blessed.
Cabbage is an underrated cruciferous workhorse — rich in vitamin C, fiber, and the glucosinolates that the body converts to cancer-protective compounds. Its fiber feeds gut bacteria and steadies blood sugar, and its potassium supports blood pressure. Cooking it soft makes it gentle on sensitive digestion while preserving most of its minerals; keeping the cook shorter retains more vitamin C.
Core and chop cabbage into bite-size pieces. Sweat sliced onion in a little fat, add cabbage with a splash of broth, cover, and steam-braise until tender but not mushy, 20-30 minutes. A smoked turkey wing in the pot adds depth. Season with black pepper and a little red pepper.
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