Chef Ed Jones' Cabbage and Noodles

This recipe is Chef Ed Jones’ take on one of his favorite “Pennsylvania Dutch” dishes from his childhood. It’s sentimental comfort food for people who grew up eating it at home or at street fairs in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and it’s really all about two things: butter and texture. The texture of the cabbage and egg noodles...soft, chewy noodles with crispy edges, and caramelized cabbage with just enough crunch. The butter, coating everything in the dish with a sweet creaminess and nutty aroma.

Cabbage and Noodles

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 cups green cabbage, cut into 1/8” pieces, cured* (see curing notes below, or serve uncured)
8 oz shaved red onion
16 oz pappardelle pasta* (see pasta recipe below, or substitute store-bought egg noodles- we suggest pappardelle from DiFiore Ravioli Shop, which Firebox uses on the occasion that they don't make it in-house and which is also pictured above)
8 oz unsalted butter, cut into 1” cubes
4 tbsp Parmesan Reggiano cheese, grated
4 tbsp flat ­leaf parsley, roughly chopped
4 tsp cracked black peppercorns
2 tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp sunflower oil
4 tsp kosher salt

Cabbage Cure

2/3 c sugar
2/3 c kosher salt
4 c water
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp caraway
1 tbsp fennel seed
2 cloves raw garlic
Cheese cloth & butchers twine

Lightly toast the caraway and fennel seeds in a sauté pan over medium heat. Place the caraway, fennel, bay leaves and garlic in cheese cloth, wrap and tie closed using butchers twine making a sachet. Combine the sachet, sugar, kosher salt and water in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar and salt has dissolved, set aside and cool. Place cut cabbage into a plastic container and pour cooled curing brine over the cabbage.

Cover the container with cheese cloth and secure the cloth to the container with butchers twine. Refrigerate the cabbage for two days. Remove the cabbage from the cure and rinse with cold water. Pat the cabbage dry with a clean cloth towel and set aside.

Pappardelle Pasta

330g “00” flour
150g egg yolks
30g whole milk
10g olive oil
1 whole egg
3g kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in an electric stand mixer and mix on low speed using a dough hook attachment for approximately 5 minutes. Cut the dough in two pieces and work each piece with your hands until all creases have been incorporated, making them as smooth as possible. Press the dough flat and roll until the pasta is approximately 1/6” thick using a rolling pin. Be sure to dust your rolling surface with “00” flour to keep the dough from sticking to your work surface. Cut the rolled dough into 10-­14” pieces, and roll each individual pasta sheet into cylinders. Cut the rolled pasta sheets into 2/3” wide pieces and reserve for cooking. The pasta should hold raw for 2­-3 days refrigerated.

Instructions

­ In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Drop the pre­-made pappardelle pasta into the pot and boil for approximately 2­-3 minutes. Set aside.

­ Heat a large, heavy­ bottomed sauté pan over high heat and add the sunflower oil to the pan.

­ Remove the pan from the burner and add the cured cabbage and shaved red onion.

Place the pan back on the burner and reduce the heat to medium­ high, while slowly adding the kosher salt to the mixture.

Gently moving the pan in a circular motion, cook the cabbage and onions until the edges of the cabbage begin to brown and the onion begins to caramelize.

Remove the pan from the burner and add the unsalted butter, tossing the mixture to coat the vegetables and melt the butter.

At this point, add the blanched pappardelle to the sauté pan, toss and place back on the burner, continuing to cook over medium­ high heat.

Moving the pan in a gentle circular motion, cook the pappardelle until the edges start to crisp and the butter has browned.

­ Add the cracked black peppercorns, lemon juice and half of the chopped parsley immediately before plating.

­ Garnish each plate with the remaining chopped parsley and Parmesan Reggiano.