Cabbage (or whatever you have on hand) Pie

I've been holding on to this post for a while, perhaps because other things were looking more appealing.  But perhaps some of you are still working your way through the cabbage tsunami from your own CSA, and this recipe is wonderfully flexible, so really, whatever you have in your crisper would probably work just fine.  And the winter greens will be here before we know it.

The first time we saw cabbage in our box, we were a little depressed.  Cabbage soup?  Too hot out for soup, and it doesn't use up enough cabbage.  Stuffed cabbage rolls?  Too much work.  Cole slaw?  A veto from S., who simply doesn't like it.  And then there's the fact that cabbage, well ... tastes like cabbage.  At least it wasn't radicchio or curly endive, right?  (Actually, we'd gotten those, too.  Why do CSA farmers grow so many bitter greens?  Does it have something to do with the soil?  Please, someone explain this to me.)

Enter Mark Bittman, self proclaimed "vegan until 6 p.m." and food writer extraordinaire.  He (or his book, anyway), suggested cabbage pie. This seemed like a pretty good idea to me, since the bean in my belly makes me practically retch at the thought of green things, and prefers to munch on things like an entire bag of Pirate's Booty (sad but true; I swear it was the first time I've ever done that), cookie dough ice cream, and banana cupcakes.  I was sure I was going to gain 20 pounds before the first trimester is over.  So much for cutting back on carbs.  Yes, I thought, cabbage pie would disguise the green pretty thoroughly.

The nice thing about this dish is that (according to Bittman) you can put pretty much anything into it: mushrooms and bulgur, kale, broccoli, spinach.  And the crust is not terribly bad for you.  I haven't tried it with whole wheat pastry flour, but plan to do so next time.

Cabbage Pie

2 T. butter
1 medium head of cabbage, thinly sliced (or 8 leaves of collards or kale)
1 medium onion, diced
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. chopped mixed herbs (dill, parsley, thyme, etc.--whatever you like)
3 eggs
1 c. Greek style yogurt
3 T. mayonnaise
1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add cabbage/kale and onion, and saute for about 10 minutes until the leaves are tender but not brown.  Remove from heat, add herbs, and adjust seasonings.

Combine yogurt, eggs, and mayonnaise.  Add baking powder and flour, and mix until smooth.  Lightly butter a 9x12" baking dish, and spread half the batter over the bottom.  Top with cabbage.  Smear the remaining batter over the top with a spatula (or your fingers; it gets stubborn) so that there are NO holes.

Bake 45 minutes until shiny and golden brown.  Let the pie cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.