Creamed Cabbage

Six ingredients, one dish, and the oven does all the work. Thinly sliced cabbage gets layered in a baking dish, seasoned with a touch of sugar, salt, and nutmeg, then drenched in heavy cream and topped with breadcrumbs. Forty-five minutes later, the cream has reduced and thickened into a rich sauce while the breadcrumbs turn golden and crunchy.

The nutmeg is the ingredient that makes this taste like something your grandmother spent hours on. Just a few sprinklings add a warm, slightly sweet spice note that pairs naturally with both the cream and the cabbage. Don’t overdo it though. Nutmeg gets bitter fast.

The sugar isn’t here to make the cabbage sweet. A single teaspoon helps draw moisture out of the sliced cabbage and balances the slight bitterness that raw cabbage can carry into a cooked dish.

Slice the cabbage thin and even so it cooks through at the same rate. Thick chunks won’t soften fully in 45 minutes and you’ll end up with crunchy centers in an otherwise silky dish.

Pro Tips

• Use fresh breadcrumbs torn from day-old bread, not dried store-bought crumbs. Fresh crumbs toast up lighter and crunchier in the oven.
• Don’t cover the dish. The exposed top needs the dry oven heat to brown the breadcrumbs and reduce the cream into a thick sauce.
• This works with either green or red cabbage. Red will turn the cream a dramatic purple, which looks striking on the plate.

Variations

• Gruyere topping: Toss the breadcrumbs with grated Gruyere before scattering them over the cabbage for a cheesy crust.
• Bacon crumble: Mix crumbled cooked bacon into the breadcrumb topping for a smoky, salty crunch.
• Lighter version: Substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream. The sauce will be thinner but still rich.