Forgotten vegetables...Tuscan cabbage

Jos and I enjoy going to a farm in the north of Holland called De Cuynder. They sell their own vegetables including forgotten types or old varieties that are slowly disappearing. We bought a cooking pumpkin, two ears of sweet corn (they were only 25 cents which was an amazing price) and a crop of palm cabbage also known as Tuscan or black leaf cabbage. It is similar to kale but has a stronger taste. We tried it yesterday and it was delicious! Luckily, I have enough left to make another recipe which I will share in my next post but this is what I did with some of it for last night's meal.

Spaghetti carbonara with Tuscan cabbage for two

150 gram / 1/3 lb. spaghetti
1/4 lb. bacon, cut in chunks
3 spring onions, chopped roughly
1/3 lb. Tuscan cabbage, remove center vein and chop
3 eggs
1/4 lb. parmasan cheese
olive oil
pine nuts
freshly ground sea salt and pepper

Cook the spaghetti as directed on package. Roast the pine nuts if a dry pan and set aside. Fry the bacon in a little olive oil. Add spring onions and cabbage to the bacon until cooked.

In a bowl, mix the eggs with 3/4 of your parmasan cheese. When spaghetti is cooked, drain and add to the bacon and cabbage mixture. Now stirring constantly, add the eggs and cook until the spaghetti is coated and slightly cooked. Place the pasta onto two plates and add the remaining cheese and pine nuts, salt and pepper. Mix together and serve immediately.

If you are unable to get Tuscan cabbage, you can use kale in its place. It was fun trying a new vegetable and it really had a much better and more intense flavor than regular kale.

Bon appetit or eet smakelijk!
Heidi