Portuguese cabbage a tasty find

"Oh, yeah," he said, "that's Gerard Vincent's. I bet he'd let youhave some."

I finally got up the courage to ask if Mr. Vincent would start aplant for me, and he said there was nothing simpler: Just stick acutting in the dirt. Now I've got a Portuguese cabbage of my own,thriving in a pot on our walkway. Last week, I made grelos stir-fried cabbage in the Portuguese style.

Portuguese cabbage is among the many all-butforgotten forms ofethnic produce that once flourished in backyard gardens here.Portuguese call cabbage "couves" (KOOV-zsh). But by that, theydon't mean the tight, rolled heads of standard cabbage.

Portuguese cabbage is broad-leafed and bright green with whitemidribs, the leaves growing outward from a central stalk in aspiral fashion. It is generally called in Portuguese couvetronchuda (a corruption of Trauxuda, the region of Portugal fromwhich it was first imported). According to gardening resources, itsfamily name is Brassica oleracea var. costata.

Although you can substitute kale for Portuguese cabbage, I prefercollard greens because they come much closer to the tender anddelicate texture of the cabbage I remember from Grandpa's garden.This, we put into our Portuguese bean soup. It is the mainingredient in the national soup of Portugal, caldo verde ("greensoup").

Online, with help from a gardening column in The Washington Post, Ifound a source for seeds: Redwood City Seeds (650-325-7333,

www.ecoseeds.com

); you can get a packet for $3.50 plus $2 shipping. Or just try tofind a friendly Portuguese gardener who will cut you a slip, likemy pal, Mr. Vincent.

To make grelos, roll 4 to 6 washed Portuguese cabbage or collardgreen leaves into a tight cylinder and cut very thinly across thegrain. Pour a little olive oil into a frying pan, or spray witholive oil cooking spray. Saute 2 minced garlic cloves over mediumheat until golden, add cabbage and saute, stirring, until brightgreen. Salt and pepper to taste. Some recipes call for thinlysliced onion, which would be sauteed with the garlic. If you usekale, you need to cook it longer and add 1/2 cup or so of boilingwater or chicken broth with the vegetable, so it cooks through.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at

wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com