I have never met my cousin Bentzi; he lives in Israel and was away when I was there last year. But I have been getting to know him through his art and the cooking he shares with us through our family group on FB. I guess cooking, and enjoying feeding people, is a family trait we share.
When he shared the recipe for his pasta and cabbage I was so excited to try it, it looked like the ultimate vegetarian comfort food. In fact, that was exactly what it was called by my vegetarian daughter. I served it with zucchini chips to add some green to this very tan dish.
But I have to fess up – my cousin makes his own pasta. Alas, I do not have a pasta machine, so I took the easy way out and searched for noodles I thought most matched what he described. I ended up with an Amish noodle, similar to what they would use for chicken and dumplings. The texture was great. Some day I will make my own pasta, but this will have to do for now.
Cousin Bentzi’s Pasta & Cabbage
1 lb extra wide flat noodles (I used locally made Amish noodles and they were wonderful!)
2 – 3 Tbsp canola oil
3 large onions (or as I used, 1 large and 1 jumbo), sliced thin
1 medium cabbage, sliced thin
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
In a very large skillet over medium heat, fry the onions until slightly golden.
Add the cabbage and fry until golden. Have patience, this can take some time. I cheated and covered the pot for 5 minutes to speed the process along. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain. Mix with the cabbage and serve hot. Enjoy!
Serves 6 – 8.
Andrea's Garden Cooking 
This is really common in Eastern European countries. On the Hungarian, and Catholic, side of my family it was very, very common on meatless Fridays, often served with a soup that had been simmering all day, often a potato soup or some sort of fish chowder, ot even some type of fish. It is called “halushki”. A common variant, which NEVER caught on with my family, was to forget the cabbage and mix the noodles with stewed prunes.
A Hint: Chop the cabbage in a blender with water and then drain. Add salt and let it sit for about an hour and then literally wring the cabbage out – you will be amazed at the amount of fluid. Also, from experience (read: burnt cabbage tastes awful), the best way to brown the cabbage is in an electric fry pan.
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I will have to try your blender approach
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That does look very satisfying, especialy the extra wide noodles. It is not hard to make noodles. Just take an egg per person, add flour, work well, and roll out thinly.
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I have a fear of making pasta. So, after I finish my challah project and feel I have conquered my bread fear, I will have to work on pasta
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