Mom's Braised Cabbage

Dive into a bowl of my Mom's Braised Cabbage, a Romanian treasure that will envelop you in warm, savory comfort with every bite! Tender cabbage, braised to perfection, mingles harmoniously with smoky pork hock, melding into a rich, flavorful feast that simply spells ‘home.’

📝 Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions (chopped)
• 1 smoked pork hock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
• 1 large cabbage (shredded)
• salt (to taste)
• 1/4 cup fresh dill (chopped)
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups water

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Prep the oven.: Preheat your oven to 350℉.
2. 2Prep the pork hock.: Thoroughly wash the pork hock and pat it dry with paper towels. Carefully cut the pork hock into bite size pieces, cutting as much meat from the bone as possible. Don't discard the bone, we'll add it to the pot later.
3. 3Cook the onion.: In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until it softens a bit.
4. 4Sauté the pork hock.: Add the pork hock meat only at this time, stir it in and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you find everything is sticking to the Dutch oven, deglaze with a bit of water.
5. 5Bring in the flavor.: Add the tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika and black pepper. Don't add salt just yet, we'll add it later on. Stir it well and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes.
6. 6Add cabbage.: Add the cabbage and sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of salt over it. It's going to look like a lot, but don't worry the cabbage will cook down a lot. Gently stir it and cover the Dutch oven with the lid. Let it cook for about 5 to 10 minutes until the cabbage starts to soften.
7. 7Add aromatics and water.: Add the fresh dill, bay leaves and enough water to completely cover the cabbage. I added 8 cups but it depends how much cabbage you have. Give it a good stir, it should be easier to stir now. Place the hock bone in there now and make sure it's covered by cabbage, you want it nice and deep in there to flavor the cabbage nicely.
8. 8Cook.: Bring to a boil, cover it up with a lid and carefully transfer the Dutch oven to the oven. Cook for 1 to 1½ hours, carefully stirring every half hour. You'll notice the cabbage will soften a lot and soak up all the liquid. Usually I like to remove the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking time.
9. 9Cool and serve.: Allow it to cool slightly and serve. Serve this with polenta or a nice crusty bread to soak up that yummy sauce.