I love any excuse to make a themed dinner so every year when March 17th comes around, I make corned beef just because I can. I know that I should probably make lamb stew, which is a traditional Irish meal, but I’m going to make corned beef anyway.
This year, I decided to make Ina Garten’s Irish Soda Bread, Slow Cooker Corned Beef inspired by Foodie Crush, and Sauteed Cabbage with Bacon, which is a mix of a couple different recipes, including Ina Garten.
This Irish soda bread recipe is really easy to make. The dough is a bit messy, but it’s worth the trouble because it tastes better than any Irish soda bread you can buy at the store. The recipe makes one loaf and it freezes well if you can’t eat it all. I love how in less than 90 minutes, you have homemade bread.
First thing in the morning, I set up my slow cooker and started the corned beef. I made a few adjustments to the recipe. My husband loves carrots so I only throw in a couple potatoes, but a ton of carrots. Because I am making a cabbage side dish, I left out the savoy cabbage, but I like how the recipe calls for savoy instead of green cabbage. It’s harder to find, but I think savoy cabbage tastes better. I also decided to throw some leeks in because I had some.
About 30 minutes before dinner time, I started on the cabbage. Dice four strips of thick bacon and fry them in butter until slightly crisp. (Did I mention this is a very healthy dish?!) Set aside. Slice up about a pound of cabbage. A small head is about 2 pounds so half a head is just about right. You can use more than a pound, but I can’t get more than that fit in the pan and stir properly so I saved some for coleslaw later.
In the same pan as your bacon, cook chopped onions and garlic seasoned with some salt. After about 8 minutes, add your cabbage, a little more salt, and some pepper. Saute for about 10-15 minutes until the cabbage is soft and slightly browned. I like mine not too soft so I cook mine for about 10 minutes. After you’ve cooked it, add the bacon and stir.
Throw some more salt and pepper on it if it needs it, and serve with corned beef, vegetables, and bread. The corned beef is somewhere under that pile of food.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Sauteed Cabbage with Bacon
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick bacon diced in large pieces
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 pound cabbage
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook bacon with butter until slightly crispy. Set bacon aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Using the same pan, cook onions and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon of salt until soft, about 8 minutes.
- Cut the cabbage in half and discard the core. With the flat cut-side down, slice it as thinly as possible as though you were making coleslaw.
- Add the cabbage, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Saute for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender and begins to brown.
- Add bacon. Season to taste and serve warm.