Two Holiday Cabbage Recipes: Sausage Bake and Cauliflower with Rye Breadcrumbs

The Latvian news site Diena has published a pair of recipes by Jānis Kairis, themed around Latvia's holiday month. Both dishes are built around cabbage and can be served at a festive table or as everyday meals. The article was produced in cooperation with a partner that the source does not name.

Bake with cabbage and sausages

The author notes that braised cabbage is a favourite in many families, so this recipe combines it with potatoes and sausages. The dish is filling and simple to make. The number of sausages is up to the cook, and can even be doubled. Because the bake is rich, green leaf salad is suggested as a side.

Ingredients are 500 g of potatoes, 150 ml of milk, 500 g of braised cabbage, one onion, 60 g of smoked pork belly, a pinch of caraway seeds, pepper, salt, 60 g of a good melting cheese, three smoked sausages and cranberries for decoration.

The potatoes are boiled and mashed with warmed milk. The pork belly and onion are chopped and fried in a pan, then the cabbage is added and heated through; seasoning is added to taste. The sausages are fried separately. In a baking dish, a layer of cabbage goes in first, topped with the mashed potatoes and grated cheese, then the sausages. The dish bakes in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for 10–15 minutes and is decorated with cranberries. For a quicker version, the onion and pork belly can be skipped, using only braised cabbage.

Cauliflower with rye breadcrumbs

The second recipe serves cauliflower with breadcrumbs fried in butter, using rye instead of the usual wheat. The author used coarse rye breadcrumbs from Ķelmēni, makers of a popular rye bread; in Riga they are sold at the Būņas shop.

The recipe needs one medium cauliflower, salt, 4–5 tablespoons of rye breadcrumbs, 30–50 g of butter, a little sharp cheese and rocket leaves. Other greens, such as parsley, can also be used.

The cauliflower is divided into florets and boiled in salted water for about 10 minutes, then drained. Butter is melted in a pan, breadcrumbs are added and heated while stirring. The cauliflower is placed in a dish, topped with the breadcrumbs and grated cheese, and decorated with rocket. It can be eaten on its own or as a side to a meat dish.