Penne w/ Caramelized Cabbage, Anchovies & Bread Cumbs

When your husband gets doored by a cab while riding his bike home from work, and breaks his elbow, requiring a two hour operation complete with plates and screws and an arm swollen to twice its size, the best thing that can happen as a result is that your mother-in-law, the greatest home cook in the world, will come up to visit. Although her company would have been gift enough, she will spend the entire time cooking, and counting the pan of eggplant pastistio she brought with her, leave practically a week’s worth of dinners in your fridge.

The best part of the visit will be getting to cook in the kitchen with her on Saturday, where we made this delicious pasta adapted from a recipe in this week’s NY Times.

Mr TBTAM, we’ll get through this. Thanks in no small part to your wonderful Mom.

Pasta with Caramelized Cabbage, Anchovies & Bread Crumbs

We modified the NY Times recipe to suit both the size of the cabbage Irene had bought, as well as our own personal preferences for onion, more anchovies and bread crumbs. We loved it. It reheated well tonight for leftovers. Check out the original recipe if you want something with a little less cabbage. (I may try the original recipe myself one of these days soon…)

5 garlic cloves, peeled and put through a garlic press
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (2 oz) can of anchovy fillets, drained
1 cup coarse bread crumbs (We used Panko)
2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
1 pound dry penne
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 medium head cabbage, shredded (About 10-12 cups)
1 large onion, peeled and sliced very thin
2/3 cup grated Parmesan (plus more for serving)
Chopped parsley for topping

1. Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute one clove of the pressed garlic till fragrant but not browned. Add the anchovies and cook, mashing with a fork, until they dissolve into the butter. Stir in the bread crumbs and sage and cook until crumbs are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Season well with black pepper. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining garlic and cook until golden brown. Add the chile and cook until fragrant. Stir in the onion and cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with the cabbage/onion and bread crumb mixture. Quickly toss in the cheese and remove from heat. Scatter chopped parsley atop and serve.

Serves 8.