Cabbage & Kielbasa

This is the easiest dish in your YOU CAN COOK repertoire. Five ingredients--onions, olive oil, butter, cabbage, kielbasa. You just trim, clean, cut and put it all in the oven. And there's dinner. Add a baked sweet potato on the side, and you've got an easy and economical meal for your family or to feed friends on a Friday night.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 extra-large (or two large) sweet yellow or white onion (about 3 cups chopped)

1 large head of cabbage

2 tablespoons (or more) butter cut into smaller pieces

1 teaspoon salt

few grinds black pepper

1 (1 1/2 to 2 lbs) kielbasa

Equipment

Sharp knife

Large casserole with lid (or you can cover with foil)

Now What?

Set your oven to preheat at 425F. Now you can prep the vegetables. Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage, cut it in two by pushing your knife down the center of the core. Remove the core. Cut the remaining cabbage into squares, roughly 2" by 2" and set aside. 

Cut the onion into slices and place into the casserole with the oil. Cover with the cabbage pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then distribute the butter evenly over everything.

Cover the casserole with its lid or with foil and place in the preheated oven. Set a timer for 30 minutes. When the timer goes off, remove the lid and stir everything. Lid back on and cook for another 15 minutes.

Using your sharp knife, score the kielbasa using diagonal cuts. Don't go too deep. These cuts will help to heat the kielbasa faster and a lot of the flavorful juices will render down onto the cabbage. This is a good thing. Put the kielbasa over the cabbage, cover and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. Cooking time will depend on how much your large head of cabbage yielded.

Serve straight from the casserole with a baked sweet potato (microwave or oven) on the side.