If you’re anything like me, there is almost always a stray cabbage loitering about at the back of the fridge, looking thoroughly rejected as all the other veg get hoisted away day after day to be made into sumptuous treats and simple suppers. Well over the years of being committed to a veg box scheme, I like to think I’ve become a dab hand at using it up and making cabbage interesting- my main rule is that I almost never boil it! My latest recipe is to simply sautee it in butter with cranberries, garlic, thyme, and chilli, and add a splosh of nice oil to dress it as you serve it with filled pasta – delicious!
Ingredients (serves 2)
Whole hazelnuts – 2 tbsp
Unsalted butter – about 30g, cubed
1/2 savoy cabbage – the outer half (about 8-10 leaves, keep the heart for roasting!).1 bay leaf
1 star anise
1 clove garlic – finely chopped
1/2 dried red chilli – finely chopped
Few sprigs of thyme – stripped and finely chopped
Small handful of cranberries
Salt and pepper to taste
Walnut oil (or good rapeseed or olive oil)
Parmesan
Method
First lightly crush the hazelnuts in a pestle and mortar, aiming to half or quarter them. Pour these into a medium-hot, dry, non-stick pan to toast for a couple of minutes, tossing frequently. When lightly toasted, set them aside in a bowl. Now put the pan back on the heat, and add the unsalted butter, and after a minute the bay leaf, star anise, and savoy cabbage that you have washed and finely shredded. Sautee for a minute, before adding the garlic, thyme and chilli.
Stir, turn the heat down a fraction to medium-low and if you’re pan has a lid, put it on (if not, improvise). After a couple of minutes add a tablespoon of water and replace the lid quickly. After a further couple of minutes, remove the lid, and add the cranberries. When the cranberries burst open, turn off the heat. Serve with filled pasta, a good dousing of walnut oil, grated parmesan, and the toasted hazelnut pieces.
I really like cabbage, so it’s not generally a problem to have too much of it. But this recipe sounds particularly delicious. It looks beautifully green too. When we used to get a veg box years ago, it was the huge quantity of swedes we used to get at this time of year that I didn’t know what to do with. Now we are growing much of our own veg, I don’t grow swedes!
Yes we get a lot of swede’s too. I’ve taken to roasting them with rosehip syrup, or cutting them into matchstick’s and stir-frying them. But yes, we don’t grow swede’s either. Or cabbage.
What do you do with your roast cabbage then? Care to share that too?
Like your idea of roasting swede with rosehip syrup, sounds quite appealing.
Enjoyed this recipe, I replaced fresh cranberries with dried ones soaked for 15 minutes, chilli flakes instead of a dried red chilli and enjoyed with dried spaghetti. Looks great and an original pasta dish. What did you have in mind with filled pasta?
Ravioli or something is fine. I like to make Mezzalune which are half moons, maybe filled with a different brassica vegetable such as cauliflower and broccoli – steamed and then mashed together with olive oil and seasoning.