Cabbage would seem to check a lot of boxes for what’s prized these days in Western food circles. It’s nutritious and inexpensive. Seasonal. Colorful. Climate-hardy. Fermentable.

So why does it still struggle for respect?

“It’s about how you cook it. People tend to overcook it, not letting it express all its potential,” says Alissa Timoshkina, whose new cookbook, “Kapusta: Vegetable-Forward Recipes from Eastern Europe,” celebrates cabbage as one of the backbones of the region’s cooking. (“Kapusta” means cabbage in many Slavic languages.)

The other mainstays, she says, are beetroot, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms; each gets a chapter, along with dumplings and “pickles and ferments.”

Although cabbage has sometimes conjured up images of poverty and bleakness (Timoshkina mentions “1984” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” as two famous examples), she sees it winning wider recognition in a kind of East-West culinary meeting of the minds.

“There’s a natural crossover,” she says, given today’s greater focus on vegetables and simple, healthy ingredients. In Eastern Europe, “there’s almost a sacred reverence” for these foods, “whereas in the West, it’s coming from a different place: awareness of your responsibility for climate change, sustainability. People are starting to think about how we eat differently.”

Take the current interest in fermentation, for example.

“I love the fact that I’m not just catering to a trend, but it’s actually talking about a culture and a tradition centuries and centuries back,” says Timoshkina.

She notes that cabbage also has a magical quality in folklore — the legends that children grew in cabbage patches, or that cabbages could increase fertility.

Timoshkina, who was born in Siberia in a Ukrainian-Jewish family, moved to England as a teenager and became a food writer, cook and historian. Her previous cookbook, “Salt and Time,” featured recipes from Siberia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.

There are various ways to define Eastern Europe, she notes. She follows the U.N.’s definition, which includes 10 countries, and she includes even more ethnic groups. She generally avoids referring to Russia, however, because of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. For its part, Ukrainian food has a large role in the book.

The recipes in “Kapusta” range from savory pies (“Patatnik,” for example, a Bulgarian potato pie) to cold-weather stews (such as Ashkenazi “Tzimmes” with carrots, beef and prunes) to summery dishes (“Chlodnik,” a cold borscht with kefir). They go from basic (“Classic Sauerkraut”) to more adventurous (“Taratuta,” a Ukrainian beetroot, gherkin and horseradish salad).

Also typical of the region’s cooking, she says, are paprika, coriander, caraway, fennel, dill and pepper. And lots of sour cream.

Dumplings and stuffed cabbage

Timoshkina considers dumplings the ultimate comfort food, though she acknowledges they take some time to prepare.

“It’s probably something you do on a weekend and then you’d make a big batch,” she says. “You can store it in the freezer, and you always have yourself a lovely, comforting meal.” Dumpling recipes here include “Polish Pierogi with Sauerkraut and Mushrooms” and “Udmurt Dumplings with Beetroot and Raspberry.”

And then there are cabbage rolls, or stuffed cabbage. They’re called gola?bki in Poland, halupki in Czechia and Slovakia, szárma in Hungary and sarmale in Moldova, to name just some, she writes.

Here too, make a big batch and freeze them.

“It’s an iconic dish that people from every region of Eastern Europe have their own version of,” says Timoshkina. “Everyone claims them as their own.”

There are variations across the region, all involving cabbage leaves stuffed with a filling and poached in a sauce.

In “Kapusta,” Timoshkina calls cabbage rolls “a culinary genre in their own right.”

She writes: “This seemingly simple dish holds the key to a fascinating story of Eastern Europe, celebrating both its shared history and its regional diversity.”

Cabbage Rolls With Sauerkraut Leaves, Beef and Rice in a Tomato Sauce

Cabbage rolls, or stuffed cabbage, can be eaten as a main course. Some recipes call for fresh leaves while others use fermented ones. Alissa Timoshkina, author of “Kapusta: Vegetable-Forward Recipes from Eastern Europe,” encourages cooks to experiment. For a vegetarian version, substitute mushrooms for the beef.

Makes 6 to 8 servings. Source: Adapted from “Kapusta: Vegetable-Forward Recipes from Eastern Europe,” by Alissa Timoshkina (Penguin Random House UK)

INGREDIENTS

For the rolls:

1/2 cup long grain white rice

vegetable oil, for frying

1 onion, peeled and finely diced

1 carrot, peeled and grated

4 to 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

14 ounces ground beef (3/4 cup to 1 cup)

1 small bunch of dill, finely chopped

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

10 to 12 fermented or fresh cabbage leaves

4 bay leaves

salt and black pepper, to taste

For the sauce:

14 ounces diced tomatoes

1 heaped teaspoon brown sugar

1 cup beef stock

DIRECTIONS

1: Parboil the rice (check the packet instructions and halve the time) in very salty water, then drain and set aside.

2: Heat some vegetable oil in a large frying pan or casserole (Dutch oven) and fry the onion and carrot over medium heat with a generous pinch of salt for 10—12 minutes, until golden and soft. Add the garlic, stir through and take off the heat.

3: Empty the contents into a large mixing bowl, add the beef, rice, dill, coriander and paprika, then give everything a thorough mix.

4: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

5: To make the rolls, place a cabbage leaf on a chopping board and add a heaped tablespoon of the filling onto the lower end of the leaf. Roll up the leaf as you would a burrito, tucking in the edges as you go. Place seam-side down into the casserole used to fry the vegetables. Repeat with all the leaves and filling.

6: Nestle the rolls tightly into the dish, ideally into one layer, but you can make two, depending on the size and shape of your dish. Stick the bay leaves in between your rolls.

7: To make the sauce, season the tomatoes with the sugar, then add salt and pepper to taste. Mix with the stock and pour over the rolls.

8: Cover with a lid and bake for 2 hours, then remove the lid and bake for a further 10 minutes for the leaves to caramelize on top.

9: Serve with mashed potatoes or some bread.