Who knew that popping cabbage in a frying pan and half burning it could be so delicious! A Sugarloaf is not just any cabbage though – it’s the adored variety found in Denmark and has a loose-leaf structure more similar to a butter lettuce - it’s sweet, and when charred becomes more interesting. Use cultured butter for this for an extra depth of flavour.
Steamed sugarloaf cabbage with lemon and burnt butter Source: Sharyn Cairns
Okonomiyaki is a savoury Japanese pancake that’s great for using small amounts of leftover meat and veg. Usually favoured by budget-restricted students in Osaka, this pancake is a one-size-fits-all approach to your leftover cabbage and well, anything else in your fridge!
Japanese pancake Okonomiyaki Source: Alan Benson
There's nothing that says "let's clear the fridge" more than a hotpot. Leftover cabbage gets cut up into large pieces and cooked down with instant ramen, salty Spam, chewy rice cakes and silky soft tofu. The broth is thick and rich, laced with earthy umami tones from kombu and anchovies, dyed fiery-red with kimchi and gochujang. If you happen to have a hot pot or fondue pot, this would be amazing right at the table. Otherwise, be sure to enjoy it immediately, and keep the soup simmering while you eat for refills.
Korean army stew (budae jjigae) Source: Cynthia C
These cabbage rolls are filled with rice and minced meat. The mix is wrapped in cabbage leaves and slowly cooked in tomato sauce. It's a delicious and healthy dish for all the family and can be frozen, just like spring rolls, and reheated at any moment.
Cabbage rolls (niños envueltos) Source: Alan Benson
A simple cabbage can become a lovely sauerkraut (German for 'sour cabbage') when fermented. The aim is to shred and crush the cabbage and let the lactobacillus bacteria naturally present in the vegetable turn it into something far more complex, (and purportedly health-giving) than the raw ingredient. A fantastic way to store leftover cabbage if your tastebuds need a little bit of a break.
Sauerkraut Source: Alan Benson
If you've got excess cabbage coming out of your ears, this is the dish for you! A simple side dish with very few ingredients, this recipe aims to show the versatility of cabbage. We get to taste it is robust, charred and crunchy balanced with its creamy, soft and gentle side.
Red cabbage cream with charred green cabbage Source: Sharyn Cairns
This pie is a fab way of turning the humble cabbage into a dinner table showstopper. Cabbage, chicken sausage and green apple get encased in a flaky crust and baked to a golden brown.
Rustic chicken sausage, cabbage and green apple pie Source: Monica PInto
This Polish recipe uses young cabbage, as a celebration of spring. If this is hard to get at certain times of the year, feel free to substitute with another sweet cabbage like the oblong Napa cabbage.
Young spring cabbage with dill and bacon Source: Hardie Grant Books
This is a swift and easy side dish to make. The cabbage is crunchy and the turmeric gives a lovely earthy flavour and turns it all an excellent shade of yellow. Cooked with fresh coconut, this is perfect as part of a curry meal but also very appropriate served with a chargrilled piece of fish.
Green cabbage and coconut mallung Source: Sharyn Cairns
These rolls are perfect autumn fare, a dish that heads towards hearty territory yet still retains a certain amount of lightness and delicacy. Great to use up the large outer leaves after you've enjoyed the sweet heart of the cabbage!
Savoy cabbage rolls with pork and grains
Krautfleckerl is a typical Austrian dish of pasta and cabbage. Kraut is the German word for white cabbage and Fleckerl is a handmade, square-cut noodle. Traditionally cooked with sugar, vinegar and caraway seeds, this version gets a fresh update with spring onions and fresh marjoram.
Austrian pasta with caramelised cabbage (Krautfleckerl) Source: Susanne Zimmel
This iconic pink soup gets its vibrant colour through beetroot, but its flavour from a mix of veggies, including cabbage! A favourite throughout many Eastern European countries, this pretty bowl can be enjoyed either hot or cold.
Borsch
Chinese water spinach, apple eggplants and cabbage are the traditional vegetables used in this Cambodian dish, but feel free to add cauliflower or broccoli if you've got some of those on hand, too. a
Spicy sour beef with tamarind sauce (sam-loh machu kroeung sach koh)
Red cabbage gets cooked down with tart green apples to make our version of the German rotkol, with glazed chestnuts for added creaminess.
Braised red cabbage with glazed chestnuts
If making individual cabbage rolls are too finicky for you, then you can stuff it instead! This popular French dish can be baked in a round baking dish, or remoulded into its original shape as is the case with this recipe from Poitou in west-central France.
Pork-stuffed cabbage (chou farci)
Combining cabbage, coconut and split chickpeas, this vegetarian dish is best eaten with steamed rice and roti. Flavoured with mustard seeds, turmeric and green chilli, it’s one to serve at your next Indian feast.
Cabbage with coconut and split chickpeas (band gobi sabzi)
Upgrade your regular mash with a little cabbage! This classic Irish dish of cabbage and potatoes, often eaten as a side, was traditionally made on All Saints Day, otherwise known as Halloween. Hidden in the colcannon would be a ring, coin, thimble or button, each of which held a specific fortune for the person who found it.
Colcannon
