by Ed Donner

Created on: October 11, 2009

This is a traditional Hungarian dish that you will love even if you don't care for cabbage. You fry the onion and cabbage until it caramelizes into a sweet, savory medley that gives the noodles a nutty flavor unique to this Hungarian cuisine. If you didn't fry it up yourself, you wouldn't know the subtle, delectable flavor comes from cabbage. This recipe was passed down by my great-grandmother, born in 1880, who I would call "Nagymama" (pronounced "nug muma"), which is Hungarian for "grandmother". She used to make her own wide noodles, but the store-bought kind works just fine. The key to bringing out the caramelized flavor is patience, lots of stirring, and keeping a lid on the pan so there is enough moisture to minimize sticking. Some may consider this to be "peasant" food, but it has all the makings of comfort food. It goes great with smoked sausage or kielbasa.

Ingredients

1 cabbage
1 large onion
3-4 tbs butter
2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp brown sugar
teaspoon pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp caraway seed (optional)
1 package (12 oz) of wide egg noodles

Chop the cabbage and onion. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pan. Add cabbage and onion to the butter. Fry cabbage and onion over medium high heat, stirring as needed. Continue to fry the cabbage and onion over medium high heat until it has reduced enough to put a lid on the pan. Reduce heat to medium and continue to fry the cabbage and onion, stirring often, returning the lid each time after you stir it. Continue to fry the vegetable mixture until it is completely caramelized. It will be a mixture of light and dark brown, and will have reduced from a huge mound nearly overflowing the pan to a relatively small pile that just covers the bottom of the pan. Add cooked noodles and spices, and if you wish, a tablespoon of butter. Fry the cabbage and noodle mixture another 5 minutes stirring several times. Serve with a bowel of sour cream.

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