Cabbage and Noodles

When I was living with my grandma she often stopped at this pierogi place and buy a bag of pre-made cabbage and noodles. It was my favorite. Who knew cabbage and noodles could taste so good. I've been struggling to cook here in Russia because I'm not familiar with a lot of the ingredients and they make a lot of stuff from scratch (like I had to make my own evaporate milk once). I've been trying to find recipes with as few ingredients as possible. Russians love their cabbage and pasta, so it's a bonus if I can find recipes including these items. I stumbled across this really simple cabbage and noodle recipe and was so happy with the results. For just a few ingredients it was very flavorful.

This was the second time I attempted this recipe and both times it turned out great (except the first time I added WAY too much pepper. Check and double check the amount you need to add and don't add 3 teaspoons of pepper like I did).

What you need:

• 1 tbsp salt
• 4 cups finely shredded cabbage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/4-1 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 cups of cooked egg noodles, drained (I couldn't find egg noodles here so I just bought bow tie pasta but cooked it longer than suggested because it's an al dente pasta).

Directions:

1. Slice the cabbage . I know in the United States you can buy pre cut bags of angel hair cabbage, but this is Russia and they aren't lazy. I could have cut mine thinner, but actually it was not bad the thickness I had it because it all shrinks (see picture above).
2. Mix the cabbage with the salt in a large bowl and let sit for 30 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as possible.
3. Heat the butter in a large and deep skillet (If you don't have one I just put it all in a put and at the end mixed the noodles and cabbage in batches in a frying pan). When the butter has melted add the cabbage, onions, sugar, and pepper. I also added more salt as necessary. 
4. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until cabbage has browned. As the cabbage shrank I would taste test and add add more salt and pepper as I felt necessary. This process will take about 40-45 minutes.
5. With about 10 minutes left I started boiling the noodles in a separate pot. Drain when done.
6. When both the pasta and cabbage is finished cooking add the pasta to the cabbage and onion mixture. Blend thoroughly and let sit for several minutes on low heat or no heat so the noodles and soak up some flavor.
7. Enjoy!

I'm excited to say that I am leaving for Madrid on Monday, so look forward to my photos and posts about Spain!