Storage conditions and periods. How long does it take to stew cabbage? Can cabbage be stored in the freezer?

A variety of dishes are prepared from cabbage every day. In this regard, people create a certain supply of vegetables in the house so that they are always at hand. But how should cabbage be stored so that it does not spoil? Can a refrigerator be used to preserve food?

In the refrigerator for vegetables, you need to choose the coldest places where the temperature is constantly kept at 1 degree below zero. Refrigerators sold in the country have a compartment designed specifically for this.

Some models of refrigerated household appliances may not have such a vegetable compartment. Then the heads of cabbage are placed where vegetables are usually kept and the regulator is set to the lowest temperature. In such conditions, cabbage can remain for about 1 month without loss of quality. Sometimes, if it is placed in the wrong place, it may begin to rot after a week of storage. Therefore, forks in the refrigerator should be placed correctly.

When it comes to cabbage, the housewife always has one task - to keep it in the refrigerator for as long as possible. For this purpose, many different methods have been developed to protect forks from moisture getting on them. You can prevent moisture from getting on the stored head of cabbage if you wrap it in cling film when storing it.

But such preparation requires performing a number of actions in the following order:

select vegetables with elastic heads of cabbage, to which the outer leaves fit tightly;
cut off the stalk so that it sticks out 2 cm;
Any damage found is cut off with a knife;
wrap the forks with cling film in 2-3 layers;
squeeze out the air from the packaging, smooth out the folds of the packaging;
send the heads of cabbage to the refrigerator, placing them in the coldest compartment.

There is another interesting storage method. To do this, the heads of cabbage are wrapped in paper and placed one at a time in a perforated plastic bag. The paper will begin to absorb moisture and the paper wrapping will need to be changed regularly.

Important!

With any storage option, you must strive to ensure that droplets of moisture do not form on the heads of cabbage. Cabbage forks will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week without wrapping.

Preparing the head of cabbage

For storage you need to select small, dense forks. If you bought them late in the fall, then it is most likely a late cabbage variety suitable for long-term storage.

You should avoid storing cabbage of other ripening periods, as well as loose heads of late varieties. Such specimens can last no more than 3 months without damage.

The preliminary preparation of vegetables is of great importance in the selection of forks for storage. All forks are thoroughly inspected and, if cracks, signs of damage from pests, or dents from transportation are found, they are rejected and used for their intended purpose as quickly as possible.

The remaining stems must be trimmed. The shorter it is, the better for effective storage. From the remains of the stems, cabbage during storage may produce flower stalks or small heads of cabbage, which will have a bad effect on the quality of storage.

Important!

Before storage, the forks should be freed from the outer leaves, leaving no more than one pair of leaves. During storage, these leaves will protect the heads of cabbage from fungal and bacterial infections.

In addition, the heads of cabbage are washed in running water. By this method, harmful insects, particles of earth and sand are washed out of the forks. At the end of the preparatory work, all forks are wiped with clean cloth rags to remove all moisture. Dried heads can be stored.

Features of storing different types of cabbage

The difference in storage duration is observed not only between types of cabbage, but also between varieties of the same species. Late ripening varieties can be stored much longer than early varieties. And based on the types of cabbage, it is known that the shelf life of cauliflower, as well as broccoli and Chinese cabbage, is just over 2 weeks, and kohlrabi - up to 35 days.

How to properly store white cabbage

There are many suitable places where you can successfully store this cabbage. However, for residents of apartment buildings, the refrigerator has become a familiar place. By placing the vegetable in a special compartment, you can rest assured that it will not spoil within 90 days.

It is worth noting that during storage the cabbage will begin to wilt and will not be as attractive. If you remove a couple of leaves from the head of cabbage from time to time, you will be able to slightly extend the storage period. With this option, the forks will not lose their beneficial qualities; all vitamins and mineral salts will be preserved almost completely.

The shelf life of cabbage in a refrigerator can be significantly extended if you wrap each fork in protective film. It is claimed that this approach will increase the safety of the product by 2 times, and the quality of storage will greatly differ for the better - the cabbage will not lose its crunch and taste.

Storage on the balcony

This storage option also deserves attention if the balcony is glazed and properly insulated. To do this, put a cabinet with shelves and a closing door on the balcony. Forks are also wrapped in cling film and stored in one row on each rack. However, if your temperature drops to -2 degrees or lower in winter, then you should abandon this idea.

Pantry

Sometimes, to preserve cabbage, city residents use the pantry available in the apartment. Forks, before storing, are also wrapped in cling film. Every 10 days, the heads of cabbage should be inspected for rotting. In such conditions, the vegetable product will last for 2-4 months. Cabbage, with different storage methods, can retain its qualities for different times.

How long can cabbage be stored in an apartment?

Opened forks, at 20-24 degrees Celsius, can be stored for no more than 7 days.
Cabbage, properly stored on the balcony, may not lose its beneficial properties for six months.
Forks wrapped in film and placed in the refrigerator can be stored for 150 days.
Cabbage frozen in the freezer will keep well for 300 days.
Dried cabbage will retain its usefulness for 1 year.

To successfully store white cabbage, you need to create the following conditions for it:

temperature - from minus 1 to +5 degrees;
air humidity - from 80 to 95%.

How to Store Cauliflower in the Refrigerator

The method by which cauliflower is stored in the refrigerator is far from the best. It will not be possible to preserve vegetables like this for a long time. It is guaranteed to last in the refrigerator, without loss of quality, for about two weeks, or at best 1 month.

It is not recommended to place open vegetables in the refrigerator. The cabbage should be well covered by wrapping it in 2 layers of cling film, thick paper or placing it in a sealed plastic bag. For each head of cabbage you need to select a separate package. The packaged cabbage is placed in the upper compartments of the refrigeration unit.

Important!

Some preparation is required before placing the vegetable in the refrigerator. All leaves and roots are cut off the fork.

If you want to preserve a vegetable for a long time, for example, one year, you need to place it in the freezer. Moreover, there it can be stored both in its entirety and in parts. Some housewives place cauliflower, previously steamed in boiling water, in the freezer for storage.

How to store broccoli in the refrigerator

Despite the good resistance of broccoli to low temperatures, its storage is associated with a lot of difficulties. The big problem is that it fades very quickly and does not tolerate excess moisture. However, there are ways to store such cabbage throughout the year.

Broccoli should not be kept in a warm room with low humidity. Because of this, the refrigerator is a good place to store broccoli. It requires a temperature of 0 to 10 degrees above zero and a relative humidity of 90-95%.

But even under such storage conditions, cabbage will retain its quality for no more than 2 weeks. Long-term storage of broccoli for 6-12 months can be achieved by placing it in the freezer.

Over a long period of using broccoli, several effective ways to store it in the refrigerator have been developed:

In a container with water. This method will ensure that cabbage is stored for 9 days. To do this you need to take the following steps:

select a suitable container and pour some water into it;
place the cabbage in it so that the inflorescence is at the top;
cover the inflorescence with a perforated plastic bag;
place the broccoli in containers in the refrigeration unit;
The water in the container should be replaced daily.

Storage in a paper napkin. This method is only suitable when you need to preserve broccoli for no more than 4 days. To do this you will need to take the following steps:

Spray all inflorescences with a spraying device;
Wrap the broccoli loosely in paper towels;
the napkins should absorb excess moisture;
place the cabbage in the refrigerator.

Storing cabbage in bags in parts. The method is suitable if you need to ensure the preservation of vegetables for 3 days. To do this you will need to do the following:

take a synthetic bag and make 6 holes in it for ventilation;
Place an inflorescence in each bag;
place the packaged vegetable in the refrigerator.

Attention!

Broccoli does not tolerate excess moisture, so it is not washed when it is sent for storage. If the dirt is very strong, you can wash it, but then the cabbage should be dried well.

For long-term storage, you will need to freeze broccoli. If this operation is performed according to the rules, cabbage will not lose its beneficial qualities and good appearance. To freeze a vegetable, you need to prepare it properly:

vegetables selected for freezing should be washed well in a vinegar solution (3 teaspoons of vinegar per 5 liters of water);
After keeping the cabbage in the vinegar solution for 20 minutes, rinse it with running water and dry it;
disassemble the forks into inflorescences 3 cm in diameter, the length should be the same;
Blanch the vegetables for 3 minutes, and then immediately plunge the inflorescences into ice water;
dry the cabbage;
Pack the inflorescences into bags, removing air from them;
place the broccoli bags in the freezer.

If the need arises to prepare a broccoli dish, remove several bags from the freezer and defrost the product in heated water.

How to store sauerkraut in the refrigerator

White cabbage fermented using the usual method can be stored for several months in appropriate conditions. Therefore, it can be eaten all autumn, winter and even spring.

Of course, room temperature is not suitable for long-term storage. Under such conditions, the product will quickly sour. The longest possible storage time can be achieved by placing sauerkraut in the freezer. It is important to remember that for defrosting you will need to take out as much cabbage from the freezer as you are going to use. Repeated freezing is not advisable.

It is considered optimal to store sauerkraut in glass jars, enamel pans in which it was fermented, at a temperature of 0 to +2 degrees. It is advisable that the temperature be kept in this range and not drop below 0 degrees even for a short time.

Such conditions can be created in the refrigerator. In this household appliance, the temperature meets the storage requirements for such cabbage and there are no temperature jumps. The only drawback of the refrigerator is its small capacity. No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to fit all the pieces into it.

Attention!

As we have already said, sauerkraut can be stored in the refrigerator for several months without loss of quality.

How long does stewed cabbage last in the refrigerator?

It is known that such a dish contains a lot of vitamin C, but after 24 hours, when stored at room temperature, most of it evaporates.
It’s another matter if you put the stewed cabbage in the refrigerator. There it is without loss of quality, it can be within 3 days. True, it was noticed that after 2-3 days of such storage, its taste changes, not for the better.
It is also possible to place the stewed cabbage in the freezer for longer preservation. In such conditions it can be kept for up to six months. Its taste, however, will not change.
Before placing such a dish in the freezer, the stewed cabbage needs to be prepared. Preparation consists of placing it in small pans. It is not recommended to use packages for these purposes.

When you need to prepare a dish from this cabbage, you need to remove the product from the freezer, heat it in the microwave, and then put it in a frying pan to heat it up.

Can cabbage be stored in the freezer?

Sauerkraut can be stored in the freezer. The vegetable is in brine, so even a ten-degree frost will not spoil the quality of the product. Storing in the freezer for a long time is also suitable for cauliflower, white cabbage and broccoli.

Freezing cauliflower

This vegetable has an exquisite taste and contains many useful elements. To use cauliflower for culinary purposes throughout the calendar year, it must be frozen.

The process looks like this:

Place the cabbage in salt water to dislodge the insects and their larvae.
Then place the forks in boiling water for 3 minutes, to which lemon juice has previously been added.
After blanching, place the forks in a container of cold water to cool the vegetable. This is necessary to preserve the valuable qualities of the vegetable, its appearance and juiciness.
After drying, tear off or cut off the leaves of the cabbage, as well as spoiled fragments.
Divide the cabbage into florets. Place each inflorescence in a separate sealed bag.

Attention!

You can freeze broccoli or Brussels sprouts in the same way.

Freezing white cabbage

For long-term storage in low temperature ranges, select cabbage forks of the highest quality. It should be dense, juicy and not have any damage. Early varieties of cabbage are usually sent to the freezer. Such a vegetable cannot subsequently be used for preparing salads. This cabbage is suitable for frying, boiling and stewing.

The freezing process will look like this step by step:

Choose a vegetable suitable for freezing.
Remove dried, limp, damaged leaves, fragments with dark spots.
Wash and dry the forks.
Cut the cabbage into strips.
Pour boiling water over the chopped vegetable. This can help preserve the color and taste of cabbage.
Package the product in small sealed synthetic bags.
Place the product in the freezer.

Experienced housewives, when preparing forks for storage, recommend performing the following actions:

Soak each head of cabbage in salt water before putting it in the refrigerator. 20 minutes will be enough for this.
Then dry the heads of cabbage with a waffle towel. This technique can rid the vegetable of insects stuck between the leaves.
Inspect stored vegetables regularly. If you notice that cabbage leaves have lost their usual color, remove them from the refrigerator and remove wrappers and spoiling leaves.

Cabbage is a unique vegetable. It looks good from all angles and is an ideal slimming product. A crispy multi-layer head of cabbage in the hands of experienced chefs turns into a fragrant, tasty dish in a matter of minutes. They know how long cabbage is stewed and how to make its taste as rich as possible. Let's find out their secrets.

Benefits of cabbage

The best helper for our body is cabbage. It is this that allows you to maintain balance in it, improve intestinal function and normalize weight. The preservation of nutrients in it, especially vitamin C, which is simply found here in excess, depends entirely on how long cabbage is stewed. With moderate heat treatment, the amount of ascorbic acid in the vegetable increases even more. Vitamin C (ascorbigen) not only helps strengthen the immune system, but also has strong antitumor properties. In addition, cabbage contains a large amount of minerals and other beneficial compounds necessary for the body:

folic acid is responsible for blood circulation and the establishment of metabolic processes;
sodium and potassium ensure the removal of excess fluid;
choline normalizes the amount of fat deposited;
fiber contributes to the proper functioning of the intestines and the removal of toxins from it.

Cabbage is a low-calorie product, recommended by experts as a daily dish that helps get rid of extra pounds and normalize the functioning of the entire body.

A matter of taste

How long cabbage is stewed depends on various factors. First of all, individual taste preferences play a role here. As a rule, the type of product also influences its readiness, and many believe that a vegetable exhibits its true taste when it darkens to a “café au lait” shade. At this stage of heat treatment, the cabbage becomes optimally soft, and a slight spiciness appears in the taste.

However, some prefer it only in half-raw form or as one of the ingredients in a vitamin salad. It should be noted that fresh cabbage can only be eaten by people with strong stomachs; it is less digestible and can lead to heaviness in the stomach. Experts consider the stewed version to be the most tender and healthy in this case.

Having determined how long fresh cabbage is stewed and with the amount of additional bright ingredients for it, the result is a delicious, aromatic dish that everyone at home, without exception, will appreciate.

Choosing the best cabbage

How long cabbage is stewed depends entirely on the correct choice of this healthy vegetable, and in order to avoid mistakes, you should consider a number of recommendations:

high-quality ripe cabbage should be dense, and when you squeeze it with your hands, it should not be deformed, but only have a pleasant crunch;
examine the vegetable; it should be clean in appearance, without visible defects or spots indicating the development of putrefactive processes in it;
often, sellers, in order to sell stale cabbage more profitably, remove its top leaves; this can easily be determined by the stalk, on which traces of their breakage remain;
large heads of cabbage are cut and sold in halves for convenience; Here you should pay attention to the cut, it should not be weathered, white, already withered edges and darkening of the stalk indicate the staleness of this product.

Combination options

Stewed cabbage is a traditional Russian dish that is prepared in every family. Our grandmothers knew how long to stew cabbage and how to make it as tasty as possible. A lot of simple and very healthy recipes were made based on this multi-layered vegetable.

What is sauerkraut worth? Its taste cannot be compared with anything else, and the benefits of consuming it are great. Always tasty, satisfying, inexpensive.

You can cook cabbage in any form - pickled and fresh, supplemented with mushrooms, poultry, beef, rice, beans, and spices. The stewing process can be different, it depends on a number of nuances, and the resulting dish turns out completely different. That is why recipes with cabbage have not become boring for decades and include a number of subtleties and rules for their successful preparation.

Preparing to cook

Any cooking should begin by removing the top leaves; they are especially rough and can spoil the taste of the dish. Next comes shredding. How long the cabbage is stewed depends entirely on the size of the chopped pieces.

The fresh one is chopped into small cubes or shredded into strips, and the sour one must be sorted and washed. If it is heavily salted, leave it in water for a while, grind the large parts into strips of the same size. You cannot stew cabbage that is too acidic; during heat treatment, its taste is even more concentrated, and the finished dish becomes extra sour.

How long does it take to stew cabbage?

Mostly they cook white vegetables, but cauliflower is no less tasty in this form; the main thing here is to stew it correctly and pay special attention to some nuances.

a young head of cabbage with tender leaves will need a ten-minute heat treatment, but dense winter varieties are best kept on fire for forty minutes, or even an hour;
How long fresh or pickled cabbage is stewed is always determined by its softness, color and taste - if it begins to darken, the bitterness and tenderness characteristic of the finished vegetable appears, then it’s time to turn off the heat;
It is not worth extending the stewing time, this will not improve the taste of the vegetable; rather, on the contrary, it will completely soften, turn into porridge and lose all its vitamins;
It’s very tasty to cook cabbage in the oven, but here you need to set a low temperature so that the dish does not boil, but simmers for forty minutes;
How long cauliflower is stewed will also depend on personal preferences and degree of maturity; for a fresh young vegetable, 15-20 minutes is enough.

Cabbage can be stewed in any way - in a slow cooker, oven or on the stove in a bowl with thick walls, it turns out harmonious and tasty everywhere.

Simple recipe

Before starting cooking, prepare the vegetables, peel the onions, carrots, cut them as you wish, and chop the cabbage. In this recipe you can use fresh or fermented version.

This dish is quickly and easily prepared in a regular frying pan. Fry the onion on it, add carrots, bring the vegetables until golden brown.
Add cabbage, a little water and stir. Close the lid tightly and set the heat to medium.
After 10 minutes, you can add salt to the dish and taste it. We also decide at this stage how long the cabbage is stewed - the young vegetable can already be turned off, last year's will require a longer temperature treatment.
At the very end of cooking, you can add tomato paste, garlic and your favorite spices.

In this way, by adding additional ingredients (mushrooms, chicken), you can quickly and easily prepare a new version of the dish. Don't forget to let it brew. How long sauerkraut is stewed will depend solely on individual preferences: if you like it dense and crispy, twenty minutes is enough; well-roasted coffee-colored cabbage can be stewed for an hour.

Subtleties and tricks

Cooking any dish has its secrets, and to make the cabbage really tasty, you should follow them:

It will be very appetizing if you first fry the chopped vegetable in butter, and then season it with broth and simmer under a closed lid;
It is better to put salt in cabbage five to ten minutes before the end of cooking;
Plain flour makes the dish rich and tasty; fry it separately in a dry frying pan until golden brown and add a couple of minutes before it’s ready;
to get rid of the pungent cabbage smell, place a piece of stale black bread on top of the shredded vegetable; during the cooking process, it will absorb all the aromas and prevent them from spreading throughout the house.

One of the questions that arises when choosing a suitable dish is how long can it be stored? Will it spoil in the refrigerator in 1-2 days?

Most of us are accustomed to determining the suitability of a product for consumption based on its appearance, smell and taste. And this method has its own logic: rotting, fermentation, fat oxidation and microbiological spoilage, possible in a refrigerator, usually lead to a change in the appearance, smell or consistency of food.

What do professionals say about this? For example, rules for army canteens in the United States allow most types of prepared portioned food to be stored for 24 hours. Storage of most products for this period (and even more) is allowed by Sanitary standards for the shelf life of perishable products in the refrigerator, at a temperature of +2 - +6 degrees Celsius, approved by the USSR Ministry of Health in 1986 (these standards are still used by regulatory authorities in post-Soviet countries). countries).

Below the cut are sanitary standards and general principles

So, according to SanPiN 42-123-4117-86, finished products can be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of +2 – +6 degrees Celsius for the following periods (in hours):

Boiled meat, large pieces – 24;
stuffed stewed meat – 24;
fried meat (large piece) – 48;
fried liver – 24;
boiled meat offal
(tongue, udder, heart, kidneys, brains) – 18;
fried minced meat products
(cutlets, steaks, schnitzels) – 12;
baked duck and chicken carcasses – 48;
meat jellies and jellied meat – 12;
fried poultry and rabbit meat – 48;
poultry cutlets – 12;
boiled poultry carcasses – 24;
boiled poultry, chopped into portions, in jelly – 24;
boiled eggs – 24;
fried fish of all types – 36;
boiled fish of all types – 24;
baked fish of all types – 48;
stuffed fish – 24;
jellied fish – 24;
squid products – 24;
boiled crayfish and shrimp – 12;
fresh chopped white cabbage blanched – 12
cabbage, carrot, vegetable, potato casserole with meat – 18
sauerkraut salad – 24;
sautéed onions, carrots – 48
boiled peeled vegetables:
beets – 24;
carrots – 24;
potatoes – 18;
salads (meat, capital, fish)
unfilled – 12;
Cakes and pastries:
with butter cream,
including “Potato” cake – 36;
without cream finishing, with protein cream
or with fruit trim – 72;
with custard, with whipped cream – 6.

Standards adopted for public catering organizations much tougher than for home. Their main goal is to prevent food from becoming infected even in the most unfavorable conditions. Such as, for example, heat and a high level of microbial contamination outside the refrigeration chamber at the time of preparation of the semi-finished product. And the initial freshness of food in the catering system is a variable with many unknowns.

In addition, these standards do not require the use of special storage devices: such as tightly packing hot dishes in cling film, foil, or placing them in vacuum containers. Meanwhile, such measures can really extend the life of the product.

These deadlines, defined by SanPiN 42-123-4117-86, can be taken into account rather as the minimum term storage of food and prepared meals. If you are not cooking in camping conditions (for example, in a tent in the forest) or in a hot desert, then these periods significantly exceed the permissible ones. For example, most of us know from our personal experience that homemade cutlets can be stored in the refrigerator for much longer than 12 hours. And the tradition of finishing up on January 1-2 everything that was not eaten on New Year's Eve is well known to all of us.

White cabbage, despite its availability, is one of the healthiest vegetables. Even in ancient times, cabbage was valued for the fact that it could be eaten not only raw, but also fermented, salted and stewed, and also used in the preparation of a variety of dishes - from pie filling to stewed meat.

Useful properties of stewed cabbage

Stewed cabbage has almost the same beneficial composition as fresh cabbage. Its cabbage leaves contain quite a lot of useful substances: fiber, carbohydrates, as well as minerals and vitamins. In addition, white cabbage tolerates long-term storage well, and this does not affect the useful composition too critically.

Nutrients in stewed cabbage

Vitamins A, C, E;
Vitamin PP;
Phosphorus;
Calcium;
Magnesium;
Potassium.

Stewed cabbage leaves contain vitamin PP, which is beneficial for the circulatory system, as it helps dilate blood vessels and improves their condition.
In addition, cabbage dishes contain a fairly significant source of vitamin C. Only 200 grams provide the daily dose.

Vitamin B2, which is also sufficient in stewed cabbage, helps normalize energy metabolism and improves the condition of the mucous membrane, skin and hair.

The combination of vitamins and microelements represents an excellent strong antioxidant complex.

The benefits of stewed cabbage for weight loss

Stewed cabbage is great as a diet dish for weight loss. Due to its saturation with fiber, it speeds up metabolism and activates intestinal motility. Stewed cabbage copes well with constipation; passing through the digestive tract, it removes waste and toxins from the body and destroys fat deposits.

And another pleasant bonus of the benefits of stewed cabbage for weight loss is its low calorie content. 200 grams of this dish contain only 30.4 kcal. Of course, if you cook it in vegetable oil.

The benefits of stewed cabbage for diseases

Cabbage stewed in vegetable oil is often included in the diet of older people, as well as during the recovery period after complex and abdominal operations.
It quickly restores intestinal function and, due to its vitamin composition, is useful for restoring strength and speeding up wound healing. Reduces the risk of complications by strengthening the immune system.

For whom is stewed cabbage harmful?

Due to the ability to increase the production of gastric juice, consumption should be limited to:

with enterocolitis;
increased acidity;
during an exacerbation of peptic ulcer disease;
with intestinal spasms.

How much stewed cabbage can you eat?

As already mentioned, this dish provokes the production of gastric juice, so you should limit yourself to 200-250 grams per day.

How to cook stewed cabbage to preserve its beneficial properties

Separate the leaves and rinse under running water.
Cut into cubes or shred.
Quickly fry in vegetable oil, add salt, then add a little water and simmer covered over low heat until cooked.

Cooking time depends on the type of cabbage, so check readiness every 5 minutes.

Recipes for healthy stewed cabbage dishes

Cabbage is good because it goes well with most vegetables, mushrooms, meat and dough. By adding herbs and spices to it, you can create a new original dish every time.

Cabbage stewed with mushrooms

Peel the mushrooms, cut them and fry them in vegetable oil. Add finely chopped onion, salt and spices.
Chop the cabbage and add to the mushrooms. Add water, add a couple of bay leaves, a crushed clove of garlic and simmer covered over low heat until tender.

Pasta with stewed cabbage in Hungarian style

Finely chop the onion, fry until golden brown. then add chopped medium-sized cabbage to the same frying pan, add salt, sweet paprika and a little red hot pepper, add some water and simmer under the lid. While the cabbage is stewing, boil the pasta (bows or other large pasta will do).

When all the ingredients are ready, combine them, pour tomato sauce, sprinkle fresh herbs on top.