Bulgarian style oven-baked cabbage with chicken
Ingredients:
1 white cabbage (up to 2 kg)
2 to 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
4 chicken thighs
2 teaspoons of sweet paprika
1-2 tomatoes
Black pepper and salt
40 ml of oil
Preparation:
Chop the cabbage fine (as for a salad) and make a pile on the work surface. Sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of salt and drizzle with the vinegar. Knead the cabbage as if a dough by squeezing it with your hands and pressing down on it. Do that for a couple of minutes.
Transfer the cabbage to a saucepan, pour in the oil and half a glass of water. Let simmer over low heat for about 1 hour (or until soft and reduced in volume). At this point, season with paprika and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the peeled and chopped tomatoes.
Then transfer the cabbage to a large and deep baking dish. Half-press the chicken thighs into the cabbage (inner side up). If necessary, drizzle with oil once again.
Bake the dish at 200°C for 80 to 90 minutes, turning the thighs halfway through cooking.
This recipe is typical for Bulgarian cuisine, prepared either with chicken or pork. In the pork version, the only difference is that the pork joins the cabbage at the very beginning of cooking (on the fire).