Braised Cabbage in a Warming Broth
Braising cabbage is a delicious way to cook it - it can be served as an accompaniment for chicken, beef or lamb, or even as a main dish on a meat-free day because it keeps its shape as it cooks.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 hispi or spring cabbage, outer leaves removed
- extra virgin olive oil, as required
- 1 medium white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed (skin on)
- 1/2 green chilli (optional)
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 small bunch of parsley
- 1 small bunch of oregano
- 300ml good-quality vegetable stock (or beef or chicken stock if you'd prefer)
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Cut the cabbage lengthways into quarters, leaving the core intact. Wash the cabbage quarters if they are dirty but make sure they are dry before they go into the hot pan, otherwise the oil will spit.
Heat a shallow cast-iron casserole dish over medium heat. When the pan is hot, coat the base in olive oil. Once the oil is hot, place the four pieces of cabbage in the dish, flat side down. Season with salt and pepper, and brown each side - this should take 8-10 minutes in total (4-5 minutes each side).
Once the cabbage colours, turn it over and brown the next side, adding more oil to the pan if needed. When all sides are browned, add the onion, garlic and chilli to the pan. Using tongs, manoeuvre the cabbage around the pan to allow for ingredients you've just added to start to cook.
Add the herbs and cook slowly for 4-5 minutes over gentle heat, then add the stock, soy sauce and vinegar. Check the flavour of the broth before adding salt, the soy sauce should have given it a good base. If it's under-seasoned, add more.
Put the lid on the casserole dish and cook in the hot oven for 20 minutes, until the cabbage is just tender all the way through.
Serve immediately.
Find more winter warmers in Marcus Wareing's cookbooks.
