As you may have noticed, I'm always cooking and thinking about the next recipe. To me, St. Patrick's Day means corned beef and cabbage. I love this recipe because I can fix a full meal, with protein and vegetables, in just one dish. It's just like having paella, arroz con pollo, lasagna or cocido Gallego. It may take a little bit of time to prepare, but the rest is as easy as it is flavorful.
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If you like to make everything from scratch like I do, you may want to do your own corned beef brisket ahead of time. This requires mixing 8 cups of water with 1 ½ cups of salt (don't worry before cooking the beef, you'll rinse it thoroughly and I promise it won't be salty), 1/2 a cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of spices used to pickle and 3 garlic cloves. Once the sugar and salt are dissolved in the water, you immerse the beef, cover it and refrigerate it for 5-8 days. The day the corned beef is to be cooked, you rinse it and follow the recipe below.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Yields 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
5 sprigs of parsley
3 1/2 to 4 pounds of beef (skirt)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
12 white small onions or 3 medium onions cut into 8
6 carrots chopped coarsely
2 pounds red-skinned potatoes
1 cabbage cut into 6-8 wedges
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
Salt
Preparation:
Make a bouquet with the thyme and parsley and tie with kitchen string.
Rinse the meat and put it in a large heavy pot, add water to cover by 1 inch and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the foam.
Add the herbs, bay leaves and peppercorns. Reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 2.5 – 3 hours until the beef is tender.
Add the onions, carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Cook for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
In a bowl, whisk the cream and add the horseradish, season with salt. Cover and refrigerate.
Serve the vegetables on a platter. Slice the corned beef and serve immediately with horseradish cream on the side.
Image via Thinkstock
