Duck and cabbage reminds me of "love and marriage"

On Top Chef, they're always saying how duck and cabbage go well together (at least Stefan is, and he's so European). So when I bought duck legs, I decided to get some cabbage as well. I used to make this recipe all the time while I had my CSA (stupid winter months), but now I have to use supermarket cabbage. Luckily, it still tastes good.

Braised Cabbage (from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food)

1 large head cabbage
salt
pepper
1 carrot, peeled and diced small
1 onion, peeled and diced small
1 celery stalk (I omitted this because I didn't have one)
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 chicken broth (or water if you're a vegetarian. Or out of chicken broth)

1. Cut your cabbage in half, and then quarters. Cut out the core of the cabbage and cut the quarters into thick slices. Season with salt and pepper.

2. In a heavy pan, heat 2 Tbs of olive oil. Add the carrot and onion (and celery if you have it). Cook until soft (about 7 minutes) over medium heat.


3. Add the bay leaf, thyme, garlic and more salt. Cook for another minute and add the cabbage. Add the wine now too (I used Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck. It was perfectly good).


4. Cover and cook until the wine is mostly gone, about 8 minutes.


5. Add the broth or water. Bring it to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover again and good for about 15 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender. If you want, you could add things to this dish - Alice suggests sausages or potatoes - I added some boiled potatoes at the last minute - I just boiled them until they were soft, sliced them into big chunks and threw them in the pan for the last few minutes.


6. Serve with duck and eat it by yourself while you watch Top Chef reruns because your boyfriend works until midnight every night. What? Just me?


It's a really good dish. There's lots of flavor and if you add potatoes, it's a great way to have a starch/vegetable dish all in one.