French Thanksgiving around la Poule Verte- a Stuffed Cabbage.

La Poule Verte- before cooking. photo by Jamie Beck

I began a new tradition this year. Can you really say that? We’ll see if it sticks down the road, but I have often longed for a November Holiday in France that did not revolve around the dead- Nov 1 is Toussaints or All Saints Day and Nov 11 (11th hour, 11th Day, 11th Month) Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. My Birthday falls later in the month and always seems muddied by the absent American Thanksgiving traditions. In my France, Thanksgiving falls by the wayside as a somber gloom, rain or fog, settles over Camont and the entire Garonne River Vally. It may be my Catholic school upbringing but November can seem like a punishment.

So this year, as I saw the eleventh month arrive, soggy, grey, gray, and griege, I remember those early first days sailing on canals bumping into unexperienced National holidays. Cemeteries and memorials seem to take over. Big family dinners didn’t translate. So this year, I realised the eleventh would be a perfect day to bring my friends together, introduce them to some new blood, and try out a few favored winter recipes for a new long table at Camont.

Some of my oldest friends, artists Franny Golden and Elaine Tin Nyo live here now as well as my extended Camont family- Maurine, Taff ,and Bill, students/clients who fell in love with Nerac and ended up living here. Newest friends Jamie Beck and Keven Burg with bébé Eloise came for a weekend in the country at Camont. Chica fell in love with Eloise! And journalist Sallie Lewis joined us since she was writing a story about me for the Washington Post’s The Lily—the oldest newspaper for and by women.

So this is what I decided to make- a whole confited duck to snip into salty caramelized pieces and eat with a giant wedge of stuffed cabbage with a piquant Tomato Caper sauce, a bright and light slaw that Bill made, Quince and cranberry chutney from Maurine, followed by two tarts, a Roquefort, pear, and walnut savoury/sweet one and a dense walnut and honey tart to serve with a scoop of Elaine’s freshly churned Creme Fraiche Ice cream.

I invite you to make this soulful recipe for your friends and family. I mentioned it here on these stories, but this is the first time I have written the recipe since I included it in my 1995 first book A Culinary Journey in Gascony. I’ve modified things this time (as you do) and instead of cooking the cabbage in a big soup, I baked it in the cassole in the oven. They are both good! Enjoy and be grateful for those wonderful friends, old and new, who show up in your life.

La Poule Verte- hot out of the oven. photo by Jamie Beck

Poule Verte or Chou Farci

One whole Savoy cabbage with outer green leaves intact. A giant Savoy cabbage is a thing of beauty. These are the best cabbages to use although I wouldn’t hesitate to try this with a long Napa Cabbage version, too. 

1 cup chopped vegetables- onions, celery, fennel, shallots

2 tablespoon butter, duck fat, lard or other fat

½ glass of white wine or water

2 tablespoons mixed chopped fresh herbs: thyme, sage, parsley, lovage, etc

2 large handfuls of cornbread or stale bread

½ cup sausage meat or lardons (optional)

2 fresh eggs

Cabbage: 

Trim the cabbage of any sad leaves, keeping as many dark green outer leaves as possible. Trim the bottom stem so it is clean and flat. Then place cabbage in a large pot with just enough salted water to cover the bottom part (the stem) of the cabbage, the rest will steam. Cover and bring to a boil. Let cook for 15 minutes then when slightly soft to the touch, turn off heat and let sit.  In the meantime, make the stuffing.

Stuffing:

Crumble the bread into a mixing bowl. Tip-if using a crusty baguette, cut off most of the crust.

Cook the sausage or lardons in a saute pan. When brown and barely cooked through, remove with a slotted spoon and place with the bread keeping any remaining fat in the pan. 

Add the butter or fat to the pan and saute the chopped vegetables until soft. 

Add the wine and fresh herbs and cook 3-5 minutes more then toss onto the bread mixture.

Beat two eggs in a bowl and pour over the bread and vegetable mixture and mix well with your hands. The stuffing should start to make a ball in your hands; if too dry, add a little milk or water.

To Stuff the Cabbage:

Remove the cabbage from the pan and place in an ovenproof bowl just big enough to hold the cabbage and help keep its shape. I use a cassole, of course! Let cool enough to handle.

Start prying back the outer leaves carefully until the core of the cabbage is revealed, about the size of a softball or large grapefruit. With a small knife cut and twist it to remove this core. 

Make a ball of stuffing the same size as the core you removed and place it in the center of the cabbage. Start to fold all the other leaves over this core, using up any excess stuffing in the pockets of the leaves.  Fold over the last outer leaves and smooth the surface brushing some butter or fat over the leaves to keep them soft while cooking. 

Bake:

Cover with foil or a tight lid of some kind and bake in a hot oven (around 400’F or 200’C) for 45 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, let sit a few minutes and then serve by cutting thick wedges onto the dinner plates.  Dress with my favorite Gascon Mother Sauce - Vetou’s Tomato Caper Sauce (see below).

La Poule Verte served with a thick Tomato Caper Sauce. Photo by Jamie Beck

Vetou’s Tomato Caper Sauce (one of the 5 Gascon Mother Sauces)

2 Shallots, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons duck fat or lard

1 small tin 4 oz tomato paste or larger tin of crushed tomatoes. 

1 small jar of capers in their brine (about 4 oz jar)

Salt and pepper to taste

500 ml or 1/2 quart broth or stock from cabbage

Sauté the minced shallots in the fat until soft and translucent. Add the tomato paste and cook a few minutes. Add the capers and their brine and then add enough broth to loosen the mixture to the desired sauce consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. Let cook long enough- 20 minutes or so until the flavors marry nicely.  Add more broth as necessary to keep the sauce loose. Serve on the cabbage wedges and pass extra sauce around the table. 

Want to learn more about Cooking Classic Gascon Recipes? Check out my 2020 dates for classes and tours here!