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Baked Cabbage with Bacon
SUBMITTED BY: Bon Appetit


Here is a classic Irish combination from Sharon Ryan: County Kildare, Ireland


INGREDIENTS
3/4 pound bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-pound cabbage, quartered, thinly sliced
1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place bacon in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté until fat begins to render and bacon begins to brown, about 12 minutes. Add cabbage and leek. Sauté until cabbage wilts, about 10 minutes. Add water; bring to boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium and simmer until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover, increase heat and boil until all liquid evaporates, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Mix in parsley and green onions. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to 9-inch glass pie dish.

Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-low heat. Add breadcrumbs; stir until crisp, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over cabbage mixture. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen.

Although this dish is eaten less frequently nowadays in Ireland, for Irish expatriots it conjures up powerful nostalgic images of a rural Irish past. Originally it was a traditional Easter Sunday dinner. The beef, killed before the winter, would have been salted and could now be eaten after the long Lenten fast, with fresh green cabbage and floury potatoes. Our local butcher corns beef in the slow, old-fashioned way which, alas, is nowadays more the exception than the norm.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.