What is Black Cabbage and How to Eat It?

If you are a fan of leafy greens here is another vegetable you can add to your list: black cabbage. Have you heard of it? Most importantly, do you know how to cook it?

Let Fine Dining Lovers give you the lowdown on this healthy vegetable.

What is black cabbage?

Black cabbage is a type of Italian cabbage most commonly known as Tuscan cabbage, cavolo nero or lacinato kale. It is also known by the fun names of dinosaur kale and palm tree cabbage.

Unlike traditional rounded cabbage, this variety has long stems and curly leaves that are dark green, almost black in colour (hence its name).

What’s the difference between black cabbage and white cabbage?

Both cavolo nero and white cabbage are members of the brassica family so have a lot of things in common. Black cabbage typically has a milder flavour than white cabbage, which is why it’s good for making smoothies. It also packs a higher protein punch and because black cabbage is darker in colour, it boasts higher levels of vitamins and minerals than white cabbage.

When is black cabbage in season?

Black cabbage is highly popular during the winter months but available year-round.

Nutrition of black cabbage

Black cabbage is one of the healthiest vegetables you can consume. It is low in calories and loaded with immune-boosting vitamin C, potassium and calcium.

It is a wonderful vegetable for expecting mothers as it is rich in folic acid.

How to prep black cabbage

Prepping black cabbage is easy: run a knife along the stems to separate the leaves. Then cut into thick or thin slices according to the recipe.

Need to see it in action? Check out the following video on how to prep kale (scroll to the 39 second mark for the bit on black cabbage):

_{video via Food & Style/Youtube}

How to cook black cabbage

Ribollita

Take a cue from the Tuscans and use black cabbage in a hearty soup. The most popular soup using this leafy green is the Tuscan soup called ribollita, one of the region’s oldest recipes and a nutrient-packed dish.

Kale chips

Small, tender black cabbage leaves are a perfect addition to salads. Once the vegetable has matured its large, long leaves are excellent sautéed with garlic and olive oil.

For a fun twist, you can turn black cabbage into chips. Essentially, they'd be kale chips.

Smoothies

Raw black cabbage also makes a super addition to smoothies. You can try different flavour combinations such as black cabbage, mango, blackberry. Yum.

Bacon and cabbage risotto

A stalwart of Italian cuisine, black cabbage, or cavolo nero, is widely used in typical hearty dishes such as this creamy bacon and cabbage risotto, easy to make at home.

Red cabbage and honey turkey fricassee

For something a little more unusual, how about trying this turkey fricassee made with honey on a bed of shredded red cabbage. Perfect for a delicious dinner or for using up Christmas leftovers.

Follow Fine Dining Lovers on Facebook