Ham and Cabbage, An Easy Feast

Ham and Cabbage is one of the easiest meals you can prepare and serve with pride. I thought it would be timely to talk about this dish, considering the holiday coming up. (Did you know that they don’t eat Corned Beef in Ireland? Beef is traditionally too expensive. So ass in a can was on the menu instead.)

The best thing you can do to up your game on this recipe is choose yellow potatoes over any other kind. They retain their texture and the texture is nice and smooth—no grit! If you’re going to freeze this dish, use small, whole potatoes and leave their skins on. All potatoes freeze terrible. If you leave their skin on, once heated back up, they cease to be mush and fill out again. Anyway, yellow potatoes really make the meal. I’d only make enough of this to fill out a couple meals.

What you will need: 1 large stock pot, 1 pack vegetable stock, 1/2 onion, 1 honey ham (sliced or not, bone or not–weight according ot servings needed), carrots, yellow potatoes (number of potatoes and carrots depends on the number of people being fed–figure 1 potato and 2 carrots per person), 1 cabbage (large or small depending on your guests), salt and pepper, and butter.

This will be easy, and not a lot of measuring.

Instructions:

Wash your vegetables and rinse the ham.
Peel the potatoes and cut them in quarters if they are large, in half if they are small.
Peel the carrots and cut them as you prefer to eat them. I slice them at a slight angle, about a quarter inch wide.
Chop 1/2 of a small onion. cook in the large stock pot until tender.
Add the vegetable stock, carrots and potatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Quarter the cabbage and place them on top of the vegetables.
Set the ham on top of the cabbage.
Place a lid on the pot, and let simmer until the vegetables are all tender.
When ready, serve in a bowl if you like the juice, or drain and plate if you do not. (If you’ll be storing some, save the juice to put in the container with the left overs. It adds a lot of flavor and makes the left overs even tastier than the first batch.)
Salt, pepper and some butter to taste.