This Simple And Affordable Vegetable Bulks Up Dishes And Takes To Big Flavors With Ease

Vegetables are a core part of our diets, and the fact that there are so many to choose from is mind boggling, bordering on overwhelming. They fill every role from the star of the meal to support cast when it comes to balancing out a menu, but if you are looking for a veggie that can bulk up any dish, look no further than the humble cabbage. Not only is this ingredient affordable (prices typically average between 38 cents to $1.70 per pound), but it can take on big flavors like a pro without getting lost in the mix.

Cabbage has a reputation for being, well, a bit boring. But considering it's been around for thousands of years and shows up in the cuisine of just about every culture, that description doesn't do it justice. By itself in the raw, cabbage is crunchy and refreshing, with a mild flavor that some would call slightly bitter or peppery. But cooked, it develops a soft texture and delicate sweetness that perfectly pairs with other ingredients, like ground meat — hence the popularity of dishes like stuffed cabbage rolls, or pigs in a blanket as some call it.

Recipes that feature cabbage run the gamut, from a basic side dish that shines with simple ingredients like butter, salt, and pepper to a complex mixture of ingredients and flavors in dishes like spicy kimchi. This diverse range of choices is a testament to the vegetable's adaptability to different flavors and cooking techniques, making it a star of the culinary world.

Luckily, cabbage is a very easygoing vegetable. You can roast it, cook it in an air fryer, or chop it up raw to add to everything from hearty stews and stir fries to fresh salads and coleslaws. And to make things even easier, there are more than 400 varieties of cabbage to choose from in different colors, shapes, and sizes. You most likely won't find these many in your grocery store's produce aisle, so you'll want to familiarize yourself with the most common ones, like green, purple, Napa, and savoy, just to name a few.

Once you've decided on the type of cabbage you want to work with (or if you are an adventurous cook, you might want to mix and match different types), you need to know how to pick a good cabbage from the store. For common types of cabbage, like green or purple varieties, you want to look for a head that is heavy, with tightly packed leaves, and free of blemishes. A fresh head of cabbage can stay good in the fridge for several weeks — the outer leaves might wilt a bit, but just peel those off and discard them when you are ready to eat. Another common type of cabbage, Savoy, is known for its wrinkly leaves and is good raw like other cabbage types. However, it holds up exceptionally well to cooking as well, so it is a great choice for dishes that require whole, intact leaves of cabbage, like stuffed cabbage rolls. The different types of cabbage let you explore your culinary creativity and create beautiful dishes that are healthy, full of flavor, and won't break the bank.