It is winter now, and the cool climate is what our cruciferous comrade can’t get enough of. Warm up with a whole roasted cabbage that will be a hit with all of the family. Anyone who thinks they don’t like cabbage, hasn’t tried it cooked like this before.
The humble cabbage is an extraordinary vegetable. It isn’t energy dense, but it sure it nutrient dense. High in vitamin K, vitamin C, folate, manganese, vitamin B6… the list goes on and on. There are so many varieties available as well, so you can have green one week, and then red the next for an extra dose of anthocyanins. So much goodness in one package, its no wonder the cabbage moth wants to get its mitts on it!
This dish roasts the cabbage with a bit of a broth in a dutch oven. One of those lovely slow cooked dishes to slow down with the season. It is simple, delicious and brings so much joy to the soul.
Recipe for Whole Roasted Cabbage
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours 20 mins
Instruments:
Dutch oven, or other large covered baking dish
Chopping board
Kitchen Knife
Ingredients:
1 Whole cabbage (or half if its really big)
1 Slice of pancetta (or bacon)
2 Shallots (or 1 large onion)
5 Cloves of garlic
8-10 Sprigs of Thyme, leaves picked
3-4 Sprigs of Parsley, leaves picked
Knob of butter
2 tbsp Sherry Vinegar
3 cups Water
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 170 degrees celsius
2. Slice the shallots and pancetta. Place in dutch oven on the stove top with the butter and cook on medium heat until lightly browned, around 5 mins or so. Turn off the heat.
3. Add the garlic, thyme leaves, water and vinegar and give it a quick stir.
4. Remove the outer leaves of your cabbage and then place it into the dutch oven. Use a spoon to douse some of the liquid over the cabbage.
5. Place this in the oven and cook it for 3 hours. Depending on the size it may be less. Check on it every hour and baste the cabbage if you can. If the liquid is evaporating too much, you can add more. You want to finish with some.
6. Remove from the oven, throw the parsley in and stir it through so it wilts.
7. Serve by cutting into wedges with a spoonful of the juice.
If you want to make a vegetarian or vegan version of the whole roasted cabbage, swap the butter out for a vegetable oil when frying the onions. Also, hold back on the pancetta. But you could add some smoky paprika to the mix to add some more depth. Don’t have sherry vinegar? No worries. Apple cider vinegar is probably a stock standard in most pantries and can be used instead.
Play around and get creative. If you use this recipe as a guide, you can use what you have around the home to make something thats more meaningful to you.
It can be eaten by itself, or served as part of a bigger dish. I love serving it with a creamy vegetable purée or you could try a bed of polenta.
Here I’ve served it with carrot purée, some roast vegetables (including some of the delicious Jerusalem artichoke) and some steamed corn and romanesco. What a great week we had with our vegetable boxes!
Bon appétit.
