Food & Beer: Braised Cabbage with Jicama
Monday, January 12th, 2009 | Beer, Food and Recipes
I made fish tacos for dinner tonight. Instead of using sliced cabbage as most recipes call for, I decided to try something a bit different and use jicama. For those who are unfamiliar with jicama, as I was three hours ago, it is a tuber commonly grown in Mexico – it is the strange looking bulb beneath the onion pictured on the left. The only way I can describe jicama is a cross between an asian pear and a potato. As I discovered tonight, it tastes great raw and cooked.
I only needed half of the jicama for fish tacos and was left with this big chunk of jicama sitting on my cutting board, just staring at me. Assuming that half a piece of peeled jicama will not last long, I began to panic. What was I to do with this strange new vegetable sitting on my counter just begging to be turned into something delicious. I knew that time was against me and that I had to think fast – what would go well with a sweet pear-like potato? Apple and braised cabbage is a classic German dish, pear is similar to apple, jicama has a great sweet flavour that might work with cabbage. Decision made – caramelized onions with cabbage and jicama braised in Hells Gate Pale Ale.
This is an interesting combination that I suspect would pair nicely with a Vienna Lager or a Helles-Bock. Pale ale wasn’t the best choice for a braising liquid, it doesn’t have a deep enough malt flavour to bring the ingredients together. I would think that a nice German Bratwurst would be great on top of this dish if you wanted to make it a complete meal.
If you are feeling adventurous and have a craving for hearty German style food, I recommend giving this a try. If you do, please let me what you think – I’m still undecided about this new dish, but I see a great deal of potential.
Erik
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