Green Cabbage Panade

When you layer together caramelized onions, toasted squares of rye bread, ribbons of green cabbage and filaments of Gruyère cheese, then drown it all in good chicken stock and bake it for a very long time, what emerges from the oven will win no beauty contest. But in a battle for hearts and minds, this cabbage panade will come out on top.

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 ½ pounds onions, peeled and

thinly sliced

Kosher salt

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 ½ pounds green cabbage, cored

and cut into 1-inch ribbons

1 loaf day-old rye bread, cut into 2-inch cubes (about 8 cups cubed bread), lightly toasted 2 ½ cups Gruyère or Comté cheese, grated on the large holes of a box grater

6 cloves garlic, slivered

4 ½-5 cups chicken stock

Instructions: In a 4-quart Dutch oven or a large saute pan, heat 4 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and a few generous pinches of salt and stir so the onions are coated in oil. Cover the pot and cook for 3 minutes, just until the onions begin to sweat and steam. Uncover the pot, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and very soft and golden brown, about 40 minutes. Don’t cheat! When the onions are done, transfer them to a bowl. If you’ve used a Dutch oven, no need to wash it; you’ll build and bake the panade right in the pot.

While the onion cooks, prepare the cabbage. Heat the remaining oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the caraway seeds and toast them, stirring, for 1 minute, then add the cabbage and ¼ cup of water. Cover the pot and let cook for about 4 minutes, then uncover and give the cabbage a stir; it should be browned in spots and slightly softened. Add a few more tablespoons of water if the pan looks dry, then recover and cook for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Set aside ½ cup of the grated cheese. In the same Dutch oven you used for the onions (or in a 3 quart ovenproof casserole dish), smear some of the caramelized onions on the bottom of the pot. Top with a layer of bread, a layer of cabbage, some of the grated cheese and some of the slivered garlic. Sprinkle each layer with salt. Continue the layering until you’ve used all the onions, bread, cabbage, cheese (except for the ½ cup you set aside) and the garlic. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer, then pour around the edge of the Dutch oven; add enough stock so that it almost covers the bread, but not so much that the bread is completely swamped and submerged.

Cover the pot with a circle of parchment paper and the pot lid. Transfer to the oven and bake until the panade is puffed and the bread has absorbed almost all of the stock, about 90 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover, and sprinkle with the reserved ½ cup cheese. Increase the oven temperature to

375 degrees. Return the panade to the oven and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is browned, about 15-20 minutes. Serve hot; the panade can also be held, covered, in a 250-degree oven for 1 hour before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings

From Jessica Battilana for the San Francisco Chronicle

Jessica Battilana / For the San Francisco Chronicle