Bacon and Cabbage

Time is running low and dinner still isn't on the table. This situation is all to familiar. Well your in luck, this cabbage recipe is quick, simple, and delicious. As a bonus, most ingredients are already in your home. In 25 minutes, you can have meaty, flavorful, and relatively healthy vegetable dish ready for yourself or the whole family. This recipe uses simple ingredients and elevates them to something stellar!

Why This Recipe Works:

• Cabbage (1/2 head):

  Purpose: This is the body of the dish. It is cheap and gives body to whatever you are cooking. As a bonus, it is easy to cook and difficult to mess up.

• Bacon (4 slices):

  Purpose: This is the heart and soul of this recipe. Once you render out the fat at the start of the recipe, the cabbage will be coated with the meaty and smokey flavor of the bacon. This is going to provide most of the flavor. At the end, it will also give a nice crunch to the finished product.

• Apple Cider Vinegar (1/2 Tbsp):

  Purpose: This will give some brightness to the dish. The sweet vinegar will cut through the cabbage and bacon and give zippiness to everything. This will make you come back for more and more!

• Salt (1 1/2 tsp):

  Purpose: The salt will help the cabbage release moisture. This will reduce the cooking time and make more browning occur, creating the tasty Maillard Reaction. In addition, the salt will just boost the flavor of everything else.

• Black Pepper (1/2 tsp):

  Purpose: This will give the final result a tiny hint of spice and create a much more complex flavor.

Why These Ingredients?

All of these ingredients work together to create a dish with a deep depth of flavor. Unlike the regular vegetable sides you are used to, this one will keep you coming back for more. It has some spice, richness, and brightness that are essential for any recipe.

Recipe:

Servings: 6

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head of a large cabbage (or 1 entire small cabbage)

• 4 slices of thick cut bacon

• 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• optional 2 cloves of garlic minced

Instructions:

1. Cut your bacon and add it to a cold pan. Turn the stove to medium heat and cook for 2-4 minutes until the bacon is crispy and the fat has rendered out. Take the bacon out of the pan but leave the fat in it. Place the bacon pieces onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain the excess fat.

2. Wash your cabbage and cut it into thin strips (see above). Place the cabbage into the pan with the bacon grease and turn the heat to medium high. Stir the cabbage with the bacon grease then leave to cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the salt and cook for 10 minutes mixing occasionally. Once the cabbage has softened and some pieces have become golden brown, add the pepper and optional garlic. Let it cook for 1-2 more minutes.

4. Kill the heat and add the apple cider vinegar. Stir it in evenly then add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy.

Nutrition: