Battered Pan-Fried Cabbage

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather the ingredients from the list. It's best to use fresh, juicy young white cabbage with a firm, tight head. Peel off the dry, dirty outer leaves and cut the cabbage into pieces no more than 1 cm thick and about 5–7 cm wide. You can cut it differently if you prefer — say, separate the leaves and trim them into squares — but I think pieces like these taste best.

2. Step 2:

   

   To make the cabbage crisp yet soft and tasty — without the slightly sharp bite that fresh white cabbage can have — you need to blanch it. Drop the pieces one at a time into boiling salted water and let them cook for a few minutes. Lift the cabbage out with a slotted spoon and drain it in a colander so all the liquid runs off.

3. Step 3:

   

   Make the batter. Crack a chicken egg into a deep bowl, add a pinch of salt and some ground black pepper, and beat with a fork or whisk until the egg white is fully blended in.

4. Step 4:

   

   Add the flour to the egg mixture and stir thoroughly until smooth. If you like, you can mix in a few more spices or seasonings — dried basil or finely chopped fresh herbs, for instance — to give the finished dish a nice flavor.

5. Step 5:

   

   Dip each piece of cabbage into the batter so it's coated on all sides. Pour vegetable oil into a skillet and heat it well. Lay the cabbage pieces into the hot oil and fry over medium heat on both sides until golden.

6. Step 6:

   

   Take the battered cabbage out of the skillet. You can set the pieces on a paper-towel-lined plate first so the excess oil soaks into the paper. Transfer the cabbage to a serving dish and bring it to the table. This snack is great either hot, with sour cream and herbs, or cold. Enjoy!