Friday, April 4, 2008

Recipe for Potato Pie with Cabbage and Mustard (Πατατόπιτα με Λάχανο και Μουστάρδα)

Whether it’s potatoes and cabbage in the winter, or eggplant and tomatoes in the summer, I love layer upon layer of perfectly seasoned vegetables. I recently dug into my Full Circle Farm CSA box to make one of those wonderful dishes: Potato Pie with Cabbage and Mustard.

Over the years, I’ve separately served each individual layer of the Potato Pie to accompany meat, poultry, or seafood. Oven roasted potatoes, caramelized onions with cumin, and sautéed cabbage with thyme are all are old stand-bys that taste great.

The old stand-bys combined in a single dish make company-ready fare that is better than the sum of its parts. The vegetable juices run together and mingle, forming unexpected and delicious flavor combinations.

Potato Pie with Cabbage and Mustard is warm and filling, and makes a satisfying meal when paired with a crisp green salad, olives, and bread. It is also a charming partner for sausages or roast meat.

Potato Pie with Cabbage and MustardPotato Pie with Cabbage and Mustard (Πατατόπιτα με Λάχανο και Μουστάρδα)
Serves 4 – 6

Inspired by A Passion for Vegetables by Paul Gayler (Lyons Press 2000)
I’ve suggested using a 9” springform pan for this recipe because it makes unmolding the pie easier. However, I’ve made this in a well-oiled large soufflé dish and the pie slid right out, so a springform isn’t absolutely necessary. The vegetables are cooked separately and individually seasoned; keep in mind the finished dish and be careful not to over-salt any single vegetable. For a more decorative presentation, place pitted, dried black olives between the potato slices on the bottom layer. Turnips may be substituted for the potatoes.

1 pound Yukon gold or red potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 cups thinly sliced yellow onions, cut in quarter moons
4 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1 tsp. freshly ground cumin seeds
1 Tbsp. wholegrain Dijon or
Creole mustard
4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
4 tsp. minced thyme
1 cup grated
graviera or cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into 1/4” slices. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast for 10 – 15 minutes or until the potatoes soften and start to turn golden.

Sauté the onions, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, in 2 Tbsp. olive oil until the onions soften and start to brown. Stir in the garlic and cumin and cook for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions to a bowl. Stir in the mustard when the onions have partially cooled.

In the pan used for the onions, add the remaining 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Sauté the cabbage, lightly seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper, until the cabbage wilts completely. Remove from the heat and stir in the minced thyme.

Thoroughly oil a 9” springform pan; tightly cover the outside of the pan with foil to prevent oil from leaking out into the oven.

Layer the springform pan's bottom with 1/3 of the potatoes, cover the potatoes with 1/2 the cabbage, cover the cabbage with 1/2 the onions, and cover the onions with 1/2 the cheese. Repeat the layers, and finish with a layer of potatoes. (The recipe can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated; bring to room temperature before baking.)

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, or until the top of the pie is golden and the juices bubbling. Let the pie rest in the pan for 5 – 10 minutes. Invert and unmold on a serving plate; if any potato slices stick to the bottom of the pan, carefully move them back to their place on top of the pie. Carefully cut into wedges and serve.

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More Cabbage Recipes:
Greek Cabbage and Rice (Λαχανόρυζο) (My recipe for rice with cabbage, onion, thyme, tomato, and currants)
Red Cabbage with Mushrooms and Blueberries (Chou Rouge Forestière) (My review of Robert Reynolds and Josephine Araldo’s From a Breton Garden, including Araldo’s unique red cabbage recipe.)
Cabbage Rolls (λαχανοντολμαδάκια) (Peter Minakis’ recipe for Greek cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and meat.)
Mama’s Health Soup (Zoe’s Greek mother’s recipe for cabbage soup, written up by Lulu as a service to humanity).

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful Pie Laurie. And so creative with the vegetable combinations. This would be perfect for dinner parties.

Maria Verivaki said...

i love this pie Laurie - it's got my favorite combination of ingredients, potato, cabbage and mustard - i can smell its aroma in the photo...

Anonymous said...

Mmm, that potato pie looks really delicious and comforting. I love the mustard-cabbage combination.

Lisa Turner said...

This does sound good! I like the idea of including olives.

Anonymous said...

LOL, Laurie! I just got a springform pan that I've yet to use because I'm just not all that interested in desserts. Maybe this can be the recipe that breaks it in. :-)

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

This is an unusual mix of ingredients to me but it looks really good.

Sam Sotiropoulos said...

Oooh... Oooh... Did I say Oooh? :-)

This sounds stupendous! As we are not eating meat at this time, both my wife and I thought this dish is sumptiously tempting.

I have never heard of Creole mustard! Thanks for turning us onto it. I am a mustard lover :-)

BTW, your links to other cabbage recipes is a great idea!

Cheryl said...

I think that this would pair nicely with a roast! Warm, comforting and delicious.

BTW-I have you listed in a meme as one of my 7 favorite blogs. I know that this isn't exactly the blog for a meme, but I wanted to mention yours anyway because it's one of my favorites!

Maria Verivaki said...

excellent idea to include links to other recipes

Anonymous said...

Laurie,

How is this the next day? I'm thinking about making it today, and I'd bring some to my parents tomorrow.

Or have you never had any leftovers? I can believe it! :-)

Laurie Constantino said...

Thanks Peter G, yes it would be good for entertaining, so long as your guests aren't cabbage-phobic!

Maria, mustard does really go well with cabbage and potatoes. Although it's not absolutely necessary, I really like using wholegrain mustard in this - I like the way the mustard grains get caught in the cabbage fold and burst in your mouth with flavor when you least expect it.

Helen, it is comforting - also warming. Perfect fall and winter fare.

Lisa, the olives really fancy it up.

Lulu, I think it's important to break in all new baking dishes with a recipe that includes garlic!

Helene, trust me, it's very tasty!

Sam, I really like the flavor of creole mustard and also like that it is a mixture of smooth and wholegrain. Its flavor is nicely well-rounded. And yes, this is wonderful Lenten fare for this time of year.

Oh Cheryl, that is so nice of you to mention me. Yours is also one of my favorite blogs - its like a snapshot into my alternate universe, but written by someone with a wonderful sense of humor.

Maria V - I got the idea of listing other recipes from Kalynskitchen blog - I found myself using the links after a couple of her recipes and realized I should do the same thing myself. I think it's a nice public service, plus it lets you recognize the good work others are doing.

Lulu, I usually cook for two so we definitely have leftovers (otherwise known as my lunches). This is fine the next day. One thing you can do is make it in two containers - one small one for you to eat today and one larger one for you to bring to your parents. Just don't bake the larger one until you are ready to eat it. (It's also fine baked and leftover, but is a little better the first day which is why I'd hold off on baking it.) Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Gosh, an answer within 40 minutes! Thanks, Laurie!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

This is a dish that I will have to try Laurie. I will have to be on the lookout for Creole mustard:D

the chocolate doctor מרת שאקאלאד said...

So intriguing--I will try this one soon. I'm still planning to blog about the cabbage and rice, but things keep, you know, occurring.