So Many Dishes

Food is so good at stirring up memories of places, events, even people, and I know that many of my posts mention a particular memory associated with the recipe I’m discussing. This particular recipe brings back an avalanche of memories.

I’ve mentioned our time in Prague on more than one occasion, because it had a significant impact on our lives. As Ken says, living there in 1993 was the single most challenging thing we’ve ever done. Now, I look back fondly, and honestly feel as if I left a piece of my heart there. Then, though, there were days when I would have taken a donkey cart if it was headed west!

Food was central to my day because, while Ken went to the agricultural research institute, and often took Ben with him, Alice and I went to the market more days than not. We would visit the outdoor market on Havelska, a street near the foot of Wenceslas Square (I had to think to type that; in my head it’s Vaclavske Namesti), a small market across the street from our apartment building, or the relatively new “supermarket” one Metro stop away. Think Aldi’s and you’ve got an idea of the size, although it had a deli and bakery. I could only buy as much as I could carry in my two canvas bags while encouraging 4-year old Alice, who tried to wheedle me into carrying her, to keep walking.

When we opened the door into our apartment building, we inevitably smelled someone cooking cabbage. Cabbage was pretty much ubiquitous; it seemed to be a side at every Czech meal. The one time we ate at a Chinese restaurant in Prague, I’m pretty sure that there was cabbage in my stir fry.

I don’t remember if I cooked cabbage while we lived there. But before we left, I bought a copy of the only English-language Czech cookbook available. The English left a lot to be desired; I’m still not sure what ingredients are called for in a number of recipes. It’s hardly more than a pamphlet, but I couldn’t leave without a copy. There are a couple of recipes that I use, and the most frequent is for what the family calls Czech-style cabbage.

The recipe is really very simple, with just a few ingredients. I’m copying the recipe exactly as it is in the book, and you will notice that there are no quantities. This is completely cooking by feel. We really enjoy this dish, but we are cabbage lovers.

Cabbage Bohemian Forest Style

• 1 small cabbage
• 1 onion
• Salt
• Caraway
• Flour for thickening
• Vinegar
• Sugar

“Clean cabbage, cut up into quarters, cut out stalk and chop into noodles. Chop onion finely and blend with cabbage. Put into dish, add salt and a pinch of caraway, pour water and stew. When soft thicken with flour mixed in cold water, add vinegar for taste; sugar is an optional extra.”

I had a very small head of cabbage, so I added about 1/2 cup of chopped onion, along with one teaspoon of kosher salt. For me, a pinch of caraway doesn’t cut it; I added at least one-half teaspoon. I poured one cup of water into the pot, brought everything to a boil, turned down the heat, and let it simmer. It looked drier than usual, so I added some extra water. About 10 minutes before I was going to serve, I mixed a tablespoon of flour in about 2 tablespoons of water, then added it and a splash of cider vinegar. I always add a little sugar, maybe one teaspoon. This made a perfect side for chicken Schnitzel, which I’ve written about before https://somanydishes.blog/2025/01/30/its-a-favorite-for-a-reason/

All in all, it was a great dinner and lots of wonderful memories.

Happy eating!