It's raining again. And as long as we ignore the Instagram posts of snow and single-digit thermometer readings from the midwest, we Southern Californians can lament our long, cold winter. So crank up the oven: it's time for winter-veggie comfort food, starting with cabbage!
Admittedly, cabbage has a PR problem. Unlike her popular cousins kale and Brussels sprouts, cabbage is associated with an older crowd and — tragically — the word boiled. In fact, cabbage’s image has fallen to such depths, she’s now eligible to be considered ironic. Herein lies her comeback. Like the beets of yore, cabbage is waiting to be rediscovered. She’s also beautiful, delicious, and super great for you.
Buttery when roasted, crisp when pickled, and far more forgiving than Brussels sprouts, cabbage would be worthy of your attention even if she wasn’t a nutrition powerhouse. But she is. Here’s a nutrition rundown:
Cabbage has:
Cancer fighting glucosinolates
Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties
An insanely low caloric load
Vitamins C, E, K, A, fiber, folate, iron and magnesium
Let the cabbage-craze commence! These quick and delicious steaks are a mouth-watering place to start.
Cabbage Steaks Recipe
Makes 4 steaks
Ingredients:
1 Medium Cabbage
Grass-fed butter (I like Straus because it's made in the European style with a higher butterfat content)
Sprig of thyme
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Pre heat oven to 400F
Slice your cabbage into 1/2” steaks
Lightly butter a casserole dish and place it in the warming oven
Melt 2 Tbs of butter in a cast iron pan over medium heat.
Place a single cabbage steak in your pan. Rub it around until it's generously coated with butter, let cook one minute, then flip and repeat on the other side. Transfer steak to your pre-warmed casserole dish (out of the oven). Repeat with the rest of your cabbage, adding butter often, and adjusting the temp so your butter doesn’t burn. When your casserole is lined with a single layer of cabbage steaks, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drop a couple sprigs of thyme on top, and stick it in the oven. Roast in oven for 15 minutes, then flip steaks and roast for another 5-10 minutes or until the steak is browned on both sides and the cabbage has the consistency of melted heaven.
Now taste.
I know what you're thinking. You've fallen head over heels in love with cabbage, and now you're afraid the weather is going to warm up and leave you longing. Here’s a secret: it’s good raw too. This sophisticated coleslaw recipe will carry you into spring. In addition to being sexy, cabbage is versatile.
Aubrey Yarbrough is the Community Development Manager for Farmer Mark. Before moving to LA she ran her own organic farm and cooked on the garde manger station of the award winning Elements restaurant in Princeton, NJ. She has contributed poetry to New American Writing and prose to Edible Jersey.