Ruffles and flourishes

MARK TWAIN famously said cauliflower is just cabbage with a college education. To spin the analogy, savoy cabbage is cabbage fresh out of finishing school.

Unlike its tougher, rougher, aromatic cousins, this bright and leafy variation is the very model of delicacy and refinement. It looks prettier, with almost lacy leaves, and it tastes more mellow, whether you eat it raw or cooked. It is truly cabbage made for cooking any which way: It steams softly, braises beautifully and can even be boiled without losing its color, flavor and tenderness.

Savoy is a five-letter word for “easy” compared with the ordinary red or green cabbage. It is easy to cut up, with just a hard core and very few tough veins in its leaves rather than a head full of trouble. It’s really easy to cook, and fast. And it’s definitely easy to eat, especially stewed to an almost caramelized state with garlic and anchovies. Best of all, it doesn’t smell pungent when cooking.

For all its superiority, savoy is cabbage to the core, though. It has the same crunchy texture and almost nutty flavor that make cabbage one of the most versatile ingredients in the crisper drawer. If you’ve never cooked it before, trying it is like discovering a whole new vegetable, and a green one in wintertime at that.

You can chop it into excellent coleslaw, especially one made with fruits such as pineapple, bananas or apples plus raisins. Saute it with butter or oil, and it needs not much more than salt and pepper as a side dish. You can steam it and stuff it; you can bake it in a gratin, turn it into a flan or roll it into a strudel.

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Classic with pasta

YOU can even use it in pasta, in a very classic and hearty preparation called pizzocheri, with strong-flavored noodles layered with waxy potatoes, garlic, sage, butter and a very creamy, melty cheese such as Taleggio.

The combination is sensational even if you don’t start with the traditional buckwheat noodles used in northern Italy. If you can find whole wheat fettuccine, or thick noodles made from farro or chestnuts, use those. But you will still get a fabulous supper if you resort to semolina noodles.

Much of what makes this light and easy cabbage so alluring can be traced to its lineage. Ordinary cabbages evoke cold climates and hard times in the whole part of the world we now think of as Eastern Europe. It has the image of peasant food, of desperate sustenance for the deprived.

But savoy is a highly cultivated aristocrat born in Italy, where they know from elegance and flavor. (Savoy cabbage is also known as Milano there.) Apparently it dates at least from the 1500s, although some sources say its predecessors were prized by the early Romans.

It remains the green standard in kitchens in France and Italy today, although it is not as widely cultivated in this country.

Not surprisingly, savoy works best in recipes that do not conjure sauerkraut and famine. Its leaves are so tender and pliable that they are especially amenable to stuffing after you steam them.

In France, the whole head is actually stuffed, with foie gras or sausage or mushrooms, then reassembled, bound in cheesecloth and boiled; it can then be sliced for layers of flavor. Individual stuffed cabbages are a breeze by comparison.

Savoy, like anything Italian, takes well to richness. Nut oils, especially pistachio and hazelnut, bring out more of its inherent flavor. Butter suits it well, but truffle butter transforms it. And sour cream is like the ultimate gilding of the cabbage lily: It sounds like excess but tastes perfectly restrained.

Salt is the simplest seasoning for savoy, and caraway seeds the most predictable, but it also plays well with sage, thyme and chives. At its simplest, just braised in oil or butter, savoy makes the perfect partner for salmon, duck, pork, beef and especially sausages.

Like any cabbage, savoys are keepers. They last at least a week in the refrigerator, which means that having a head on hand can save your salad any night -- just shred it and toss it with carrots, a little nut oil and some vinegar, and it’s a crunchy alternative to everyday lettuce or fancier mesclun.

You can also use it instead of lettuce in a taco or burrito and get a superior crunchiness, to boot.

Regular cabbage would work, but not as delicately.

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Braised savoy cabbage with anchovies

Total time: About 45 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: Adapted from a recipe by Rose Busico.

1 head savoy cabbage, about 2 pounds

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 small cloves garlic, minced

8 anchovies in olive oil, drained, rinsed and chopped

Pinch hot red pepper flakes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Wash the cabbage. Remove the tough outer leaves. Cut in half, then cut each half into 4 wedges. Cut away the core.

2. Heat the chicken broth in a large skillet. When the broth is simmering, add the cabbage wedges, cut side down, and cook, covered, until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes, turning over halfway through.

3. Heat the olive oil in another large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute, then stir in the anchovies and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until the garlic is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the hot pepper flakes.

4. Place the cooked cabbage wedges in the skillet with the anchovies and turn the wedges to coat with the anchovy mixture. Cook until the wedges have turned a caramel color, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Each serving: 129 calories; 6 grams protein; 12 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 7 mg. cholesterol; 345 mg. sodium.

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Pizzocheri

Total time: 50 minutes

Servings: 4 to 6

Note: Traditionally this is made with buckwheat pasta, which is difficult to find in the right broad-ribbony shape. Pasta made from farro, chestnut flour or whole wheat flour would also work well.

1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt, plus more to taste

1/2 small head savoy cabbage, about 1/2 pound

1/2 cup unsalted butter

4 large cloves garlic, crushed and peeled

8 fresh sage leaves

6 ounces Taleggio cheese

3 small red potatoes, about 1/2 pound

1/2 pound dried or 1 pound fresh egg fettuccine or tagliatelle

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated

Parmigiano-Reggiano

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil with the salt.

2. While the water heats, remove the tough core from the cabbage and cut into quarters vertically, then crosswise into three-quarter-inch strips.

3. Melt the butter in a small skillet and add the garlic and sage. Heat until the garlic just barely starts to color, then remove from the heat. Discard the garlic.

4. Remove the rind from the Taleggio and cut into small bits or strips. Set aside. Peel the potatoes and slice them into quarter-inch slices.

5. Add the cabbage and potatoes to the salted water and boil 7 to 10 minutes, until both vegetables are soft but not mushy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a colander set over a large bowl and let drain, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

6. Bring the water back to a boil. Add the pasta to the water in the pot and cook according to package directions until al dente. Transfer to the colander to drain lightly, then immediately add to the bowl with the cabbage. Pour the melted butter over and toss until all the ingredients are well mixed. Season well with salt and pepper.

7. Transfer a third of the mixture to a 7-by-11-inch glass baking dish. Distribute half the Taleggio cheese over the mixture. Repeat with the remaining pasta mixture and cheese, ending with the pasta. Dust the top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano.

8. Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the top noodles are slightly crispy. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Each serving: 436 calories; 17 grams protein; 31 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 28 grams fat; 17 grams saturated fat; 118 mg. cholesterol; 372 mg. sodium.

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Sausage-stuffed savoy cabbage

Total time: About 1 hour, 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Note: You will need 2 large heads to get 16 large leaves. Use the remaining cabbage for another recipe.

2 large heads savoy cabbage

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

12 ounces fresh spicy Italian sausage, casing removed

1 small onion, thinly sliced

Salt

1 (14.5-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes

1 1/2 cups lightly packed grated Italian Fontina cheese

1 cup soft bread crumbs

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Cut around the cabbage core and remove it. Under running water, gently remove each leaf from the head. You will need 16. Heat the chicken stock in a large saucepan. Simmer the leaves in the chicken stock, in batches, for 7 to 8 minutes each batch, until tender. Remove the leaves from the pan; set aside to cool.

2. Cut away the tough rib on each leaf. Stack the leaves into pairs on a work space and set aside.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook until browned. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let stand until cool.

4. Wipe out the skillet and add the remaining olive oil. Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, sprinkle with one-fourth teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the slices are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their liquid and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Cool slightly, then spread into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

5. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Add 1 cup of the Fontina and the bread crumbs to the sausage and mix well. Season with one-fourth teaspoon salt and one-eighth teaspoon pepper. Divide the mixture among the cabbage leaves, mounding about one-third cup in the center of each stack. Carefully roll up to enfold the filling by folding in the bottom first, then the two sides, then rolling it up like a burrito. Lay each packet seam side down on the sauce in the pan. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese.

6. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Serve each roll on a little of the sauce.

Each serving: 481 calories; 24 grams protein; 21 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 35 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 81 mg. cholesterol; 1,122 mg. sodium.