Cabbage and Cheddar Pie Recipe

Cabbage and Cheddar Pie

Serves 8

Even cabbage-haters devour this pie. The secret is the long, slow sauté, which mellows the cabbage flavor. Mixed with a bit of sour cream and Cheddar and piled into a pie shell, it makes for a delicious dinner. The wholesome plant-oil crust tastes great, and the pastry is easy to work with. If it tears when you’re handling it, it’s a cinch to pinch it back together. Serve with a cold vegetable salad.

Basic Pie Pastry

1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
½ cup canola oil
3 Tbs. cold water

Filling

2 Tbs. canola oil
1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced
7 to 8 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about ¾ of one head)
¼ cup low-fat sour cream
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
½ cup dry breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs

Prepare Basic Pie Pastry: Put flour and salt in large bowl; toss with fork. Make well in center; fill with oil and water. Blend briefly with fork, then—using wide, sweeping strokes—stir briskly, until evenly mixed. Dough will be dampish and oily.
Put dough on large piece of plastic. Flatten into 3/4-inch-thick disk; wrap in plastic. Let rest 10 minutes before using.
To make Filling: Warm oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring often, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cabbage, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook cabbage, partially covered and stirring often, 15 to 25 minutes, or until very soft, adding salt and pepper to taste. (If mixture seems too dry, add water as needed by teaspoonfuls.) Remove from heat; mix in sour cream and mustard.
Meanwhile, roll pastry into 12-inch circle between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet, and invert over 10-inch tart pan or 9-inch pie pan. Peel off second sheet, then tuck pastry into pan without stretching it, pinching overhang into an even edge. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F.
Add cheese to filling, and stir gently. Spoon filling into pie shell, smoothing top. Sprinkle with crumbs. Bake 40 minutes, or until golden brown. (If top starts to over-brown, cover with sheet of foil.) Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

February 2006