Pasta Casserole with White Cabbage and Ham

Ingredients

• 250 g small pasta
• Salt
• 800 g young white cabbage
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp sugar
• 4 tbsp brandy vinegar
• 150 g cooked ham (slices, e.g., Prague ham)
• pepper (ground)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 Eggs
• 200 g whipping cream
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch
• 200 ml milk
• Nutmeg (freshly grated)
• Cayenne pepper
• 200 g shredded cheese (e.g., Emmental)
• butter (for the dish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook the pasta according to package instructions in plenty of salted water until al dente, drain and let stand (do not rinse). Preheat oven to 170 °C fan‑fry. Quarter the cabbage, remove the core, and cut into ~2 cm pieces. Peel the onion and cut into 2 cm chunks. Melt butter in a wide pot and sauté onions for 3 min until translucent. Stir in sugar, caramelize until light brown, deglaze with vinegar and reduce to a syrup. Add the cabbage, stir briefly, cover and cook over medium heat for about 10 min, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, tear ham into bite‑size pieces, mix with pasta and cabbage, season with salt, pepper, cumin and coriander. Whisk egg yolks, eggs, cream, cornstarch and milk; season heavily with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Grease a 30 × 18 cm baking dish with butter and sprinkle some cheese. Spread the cabbage‑pasta mixture in the dish, top with remaining cheese and pour over the egg‑cream sauce. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 min.

2. 2.

   Remove the foil, raise oven temperature to 190 °C fan‑fry and bake another 15 min until golden brown. Take out of oven, let rest briefly, then serve.