Corned beef and cabbage (minus the corned beef)

St. Patrick's Day is almost here and I've never cooked corned beef in my life. But I'm really good at cabbage. Cabbage is one of the cruciferous vegetables, which means it's full of nutrients and fiber and has cancer fighting properties. I won't list all its benefits here, but you can read about it and marvel at all the things the cruciferei are good for. Now cabbage rarely costs more than 69 cents a pound and it tastes really good, developing a sweetness as it cooks. So here's a recipe for cabbage as a side dish, and one for cabbage over pasta. The pasta recipe has pancetta in it, so consider that your corned beef and get busy with a highly (not) traditional St. Patrick's Day pasta!

Sauteed Cabbage with Fennel Seed

Serves 4

1/2 green cabbage, roughly chopped

3 T. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 t. fennel seed

1/4 t. dried red pepper flakes

1 lemon, juice and zest

Heat the oil in a medium to large sauce pan over high heat. Saute the garlic for about a minute, until it starts to turn golden. Add cabbage, red pepper flakes and fennel seed. Saute for a couple minutes, until cabbage turns translucent and begins to take on some color. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until cabbage is tender, a few more minutes. Add lemon juice and zest. OK to stop the cooking while other dishes on the menu catch up-- warm when ready to serve.

Pasta with Cabbage, Pancetta and Gorgonzola

Serves 4

1/2 green cabbage, roughly chopped

1/4 c. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 small or medium onion, chopped

1/3 lb. pancetta, sliced 1/4" thick and cut into small batons

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

2 oz. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup red or white wine

freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. short pasta

Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. While it's heating, make the sauce. Heat a medium sauce pan and add the oil, garlic and onion. Saute over medium heat for about 6 minutes until the vegetables become translucent and begin to brown a bit. Add the pancetta and continue to saute for another 3-4 minutes, until the pancetta just begins to brown. Put up the pasta and cook till al dente. In the meantime, finish the sauce by adding the cabbage and stirring with the other ingredients. When the cabbage wilts and begins to brown, add the lemon juice and zest. Add the gorgonzola and stir till it melts. The sauce will become creamy. Add the wine and continue to simmer the sauce. Finish with the chopped walnuts and fresh ground black pepper. Spoon the sauce over the pasta in bowls. You won't need parmesan, since the gorgonzola is quite strong. Mix together leftover pasta and sauce and warm in a frying pan for next day's lunch.