Red Napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce
Prep Time: 30 minutes total
Cook Time: 25 minutes for the vegetables, 30 minutes for the roasted applesauce
Keywords: side gluten-free soy-free sugar-free vegetarian vegan summer fall onion Napa cabbage winter squash applesauce
Ingredients (serves 5)
- 9 ounces / 255 grams winter squash, to obtain a clean weight of 8 ounces / 225 grams
- 6 ounces / 170 grams red onion
- 3 tablespoons / 45 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 13-14 ounces / 370-40 grams red Napa cabbage
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- ½ teaspoon berbere (Ethiopian spice mix)
- 3 tablespoons / 45 ml lukewarm water
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- Roasted applesauce (recipe below) or your favorite applesauce (unsweetened), to serve
- 3 pounds / 1.36 kg apples (se Note below)
- A generous pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
Note: Since they are left unpeeled, organic or pesticide-free apples are strongly recommended. In terms of varieties, mix sweet and tart varieties to get a balanced flavor.
To prepare the roasted applesauce: Heat the oven to 500 F / 260 C.
Rinse well, quarter and core the apples. If an apple is large, cut each quarter in half lengthwise. Distribute the apples in a 3 quart / 3 liter pyrex baking dish or similar baking vessel, sprinkle the salt and stir briefly. Cover with aluminum foil and seal around the edges. Bake 30 minutes, until the apples are soft.
Remove the foil carefully to let the steam out and transfer the apples into a bowl. Purée the apples with an immersion blender. At the beginning, pulse and move the blender to start breaking the apples, then reduce them to a fairly smooth purée.
Spoon the applesauce into sterilized jars, put the lid on and store in the refrigerator.
To prepare the vegetables: Remove seeds and strings from the squash (a grapefruit spoon is my favorite tool to do this). Use a sturdy swivel vegetable peeler to peel the squash, then cut it into small cubes.
Peel the onion, halve it and thinly slice it lengthwise.
Warm up the olive oil in a 10-inch deep sauté pan or large skillet on medium heat. Turn down the heat to medium-low, add the onion, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Add the squash, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.
In the meantime, separate the Napa cabbage leaves and slice them 1/4-1/2 inch / 0.6-1.25 cm thick.
Add the garlic to the pan, sprinkle the berbere and stir well. After 1 minute, add the cabbage and the water, stir slightly (this first stirring will be a bit awkward, given the cabbage volume) and cover. Cook on low heat until the Napa cabbage and squash are tender (20 minutes or so), stirring often. Should the pan become dry, add another tablespoon of water.
Sprinkle salt, stir, taste then adjust as needed. Remove the pan from the heat.
Serve with roasted applesauce on the side. Spoon some applesauce on the portion of vegetables, stir it in and enjoy.
