Green cabbage with honeynut squash and chestnuts
Prep Time: 35 minutes, including time to peel the chestnuts
Cook Time: 30 minutes + 30-35 minutes to cook the chestnuts
Keywords: saute side gluten-free low-carb soy-free sugar-free vegetarian vegan green cabbage winter squash chestnuts leeks Italian
Ingredients (serves 5-6)
- 5 ounces / 140 grams raw chestnuts
- 1 small bay leaf
- 8 ounces / 225 grams honeynut squash, clean weight
- 6 ounces / 170 grams leek, white and light green portion, clean weight (set aside the darker green portion to make broth or stock)
- 2 tablespoons / 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon / 14 grams unsalted butter
- 1 pound / 450 grams green cabbage
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- ½ teaspoon harissa spice mix
- ¼ cup / 60 ml lukewarm water
- ¾ -1 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Notes: 1) The chestnuts must be prepared in advance, so plan accordingly. 2) If you cannot find the honeynut squash, you can use a small butternut or red kuri squash.
Do ahead: Cook the chestnuts
With a pointed blade, make a slit in the shell without cutting through the meat. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, cover abundantly with water and add the bay leaf. Cover the saucepan, bring to a lively boil then cook on low heat until the chestnuts are tender (check one after 30 minutes to estimate the time remaining).
Take the pan off the heat. Take out of the water 3 chestnuts. Wait a minute to let them cool and peel the first one. Use a sharp knife with a pointed blade to remove the shell, then the skin. Take another one out of the water, then peel one of the first 3, and so on: this creates a lineup of chestnuts cool enough to handle but warm enough for easier peeling. If a chestnut breaks while being handled, it is fine: they will be roughly chopped later anyway. Set aside.
Prepare the dish
Use a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash. Deseed the squash, if needed. Slice it, then cut it into cubes no larger than ½ inch / 1.25 cm. (If you use a red kuri squash, quarter it and deseed it first, then peel it.)
Cut the leek (or leeks) in half lengthwise and slice into 1/8 inch / 3 mm half-moons. Rinse well in a colander, then place in a bowl and fill it with cold water. With your hands, swirl the leeks to clean them well, then scoop them out of the water with a sieve or slotted spoon and drain them in a colander.
Warm the olive oil and butter in a 10-inch deep sauté pan or large skillet on medium heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low, add the leeks, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Add the squash, stir well and cook for another 2 minutes. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 8 minutes, stirring often, until the leeks are just tender and the squash has softened a bit.
In the meantime, quarter and core the cabbage. Cut away the external thick ribs. Slice each quarter into ¼-inch / 6-mm-thick ribbons.
Turn up the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic to the pan, sprinkle the harissa on the vegetables and stir well. After 1 minute, add the cabbage and the water, stir slightly (this will be a bit awkward, given the volume of the raw cabbage) and cover. Cook over low heat until the cabbage is almost ready (15-18 minutes, or as needed), stirring often.
In the meantime, cut each chestnut into 6-8 pieces.
Add the chestnuts to the cabbage and stir well. Cover and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until the chestnuts are heated through and the cabbage and squash are tender.
Sprinkle ¾ teaspoon of salt, stir, taste and add more salt, if needed. Remove the pan from the heat. Serve immediately.
