Cabbage 5 Ways!

Ah the humble cabbage! Cabbage is another vegetable that really doesn't get the level of love it deserves in the kitchen! Maybe part of that is because it's a very mild tasting vegetable, or maybe it's simply because it's not the most exciting looking vegetable in the produce aisle.

Despite its ho-hum appearance, cabbage is incredibly versatile, and when paired with bold flavours and different cooking method, cabbage can be an absolute knockout star of a dish. In this post, you'll find 5 delicious recipes that let cabbage take center stage and will be sure to make you see this often overlooked vegetable in a whole new light!

Keep reading to learn more about the cabbage varieties we carry at The Market, where we source our cabbages from, and ideas for how to prepare cabbage, or click the links below to jump directly to each recipe.

• Spicy & Cheesy Chili Roasted Cabbage
• Roasted Red Cabbage With Cashews & Mint Yogurt Sauce 
• Asian Slaw With Miso & Ginger Dressing
• Cabbage Steaks With Black Garlic Aioli
• Quick Pickled Red Cabbage

Meet Our Cabbage Farmer: Dom From Top Tomato Farm

We source our cabbages from our friends at Top Tomato Farm, located just an hour north of the city. 

Dom de Filippis and his family have been farming for over 55 years. They began with a focus on cabbage, as well as broccoli and cauliflower, and over the years have perfected the way they grow their cabbages. We carry their green and red cabbages at The Market and if you've tried them in your Market Boxes, you'll have noticed that these cabbages are ALWAYS juicy, tender, and delicious! 

Top Tomato now has one of the widest ranges of products available of the farms we work with and are the farmers responsible for the gorgeous green and red cabbages featured in these recipe!

Green vs. Red Cabbage

If you've tried both green and red cabbages, you've probably noticed that with the exception of their contrasting colours, they are very similar in terms of flavour and texture. Red cabbages do tend to be a slightly smaller, more dense, and a little bit more peppery in flavour than a green cabbage, but they are similar enough that they can be used interchangeably in a lot of recipes. 

Both of these cabbages can be used in a wide variety of preparations. When eaten raw, both green and red cabbages are great in salads and slaws. Because of their slightly more tender texture, green cabbages are popular to make kimchi of sauerkraut. Red cabbages have a bit more crunch and are especially delicious quick pickled to add to wraps, sandwiches, and tacos.

When cooked, green cabbage becomes more tender than red cabbage and is popular to use when stuffing to make cabbage rolls, to use in savoury pancakes (okonomiyaki anyone?). Both cabbages are delicious steamed, braised, grilled, roasted, or fried. The possibilities are virtually endless! 

Spicy & Cheesy Chili Roasted Cabbage

This spicy and cheesy chili roasted cabbage is a must-try flavour bomb! Spicy, sweet, and salty, try this as a side to your next meal!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1/2 head Top Tomato green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
• 1/2 cup Hakka-ish Chili Crisp (stir before measuring and aim for a ratio of half oil, half chili crisp)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 20g smoked Cookstown dried tomatoes, diced
• 2/3 cup finely grated Stonetown Wildwood cheese
• 1-2 cloves August Harvest's Garlic (only one was used here as the cloves were quite large!)
• Garnish with pea shoots from Cookstown (optional!)

 Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Cut your green cabbage in half lengthwise. Then, slice each half into 4 wedges (so you have 8 wedges total). Make sure you are slicing right through the core each time, keeping it intact so that the wedges stay held together while cooking. 

In a large bowl, add your Hakka-ish Chili Crisp, olive oil, diced smoked dried tomatoes and minced garlic and stir to combine. 

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Take each cabbage wedge and dip it into the bowl, rubbing it with the oily mixture so that the wedge is well coated all the way around. Place it on the baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining wedges.

Place them in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle with Wildwood cheese. Return to the oven and continue baking until the edges are nice and crispy and the cheese is golden (another 10-15 minutes). 

Remove from the oven and drizzle with any leftover Hakka-ish sauce and dried tomatoes. Garnish with pea shoots and enjoy this spicy, cheesy, crispy, delicious roasted cabbage! 

Roasted Red Cabbage With Cashews & Mint Yogurt Sauce

If you haven't tried the combination of mint red cabbage, this recipe is a must try! The perfect balance of flavours and textures. 

This mint, goat cheese and yogurt sauce is also pairs perfectly with out Magic Oven samosas & pakora!

Ingredients (Serves 2-4)

• 1 x head Top Tomato red cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
• 2 x cloves August's Harvest garlic
• 2/3 cup Sheldon Creek Plain Greek-Style Yogurt
• 1 x 113g Celebrity goat cheese chub
• 1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp cups fresh organic Mike & Mike's mint
• Juice of 2 organic Mike & Mike's lemon, divided
• Zest of 1 Mike & Mike's lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 Great Lakes Greenhouses English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Mike & Mike's organic cashews

Method

Roast Your Cabbage

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Cut your cabbage in half through core and then cut each half into 3 wedges so that you have 3 in total. Make sure to keep the core intact and that each wedge is held together by a piece of the core.

Drizzle each wedge with oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay out on a baking sheet lined with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the edges of the wedges (heyo!) are nice and crispy. The wedges should be nice and tender inside — knife should easily slip through the center of each wedge.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

Roast Your Cashews

Spread half a cup of raw Mike & Mike's organic cashews on a baking sheet and let toast in the oven for about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Make Your Mint Yogurt Sauce

Peel and mince your garlic and add it to a food processor with your yogurt, goat cheese, 1 + 1/2 cup of mint, salt, and the juice of one lemon. Process until smooth.

Using a mandolin or a chef's knife, thinly slice your cucumbers into discs. Toss cucumbers with remaining mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Spread yogurt sauce on the base of your plate. Top with 3 cabbage wedges and garnish with the cucumbers. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, chili powder, lemon zest drizzle with some more of the mint yogurt sauce. 

Roughly chop your toasted cashews and sprinkle them over the plate and serve immediately!

Asian Slaw With Miso Ginger Vinaigrette (Serves 4-6)

This Asian style slaw with Miso & Ginger Vinaigrette is the perfect crunchy slaw to showcase the fresh peppery flavour of these cabbages.

Ingredients

• 1/4 head Top Tomato red cabbage, shredded
• 1/4 head Top Tomato green cabbage, shredded
• 1 cup Pristine Gourmet edamame
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 x tsp Ying Ying Soy Foods organic miso paste
• 1/3 cup sesame or olive oil
• 1/4 cup Niagara Vinegar's Chardonnay wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
• 1 x clove August's Harvest garlic
• juice of 1 Mike & Mike's organic lime
• 1 big handful Mike & Mike's organic cilantro
• 2 x Hillside Gardens Carrots, julienned or shaved
• 1 x big handful Cookstown Greens Hearty Mix Microgreens
• salt & pepper to taste

Method

Using a mandolin or a thin chef's knife, shred your green and red cabbages over a bowl and mix together with your hands. 

Using a vegetable peeler or a chef's knife, shave or cut your carrots into fine julienne and add to the bowl. 

Get out a small bowl and peel and mince your garlic. Add your minced garlic, miso paste, sesame or olive oil, soy sauce or tamari, and Chardonnay wine vinegar, and the juice of one lime to the bowl and mix with a fork until fully combined. 

Pour the dressing over the cabbage and carrot mixture and, using your hands, toss until everything is well coated. Chop your fresh cilantro and add it to the bowl, along with your microgreens and edamame and mix until everything is coated in the dressing. 

Enjoy!

Cabbage Steaks With Black Garlic Aioli

This is really such an easy and flavourful way to cook cabbage! Simply cut it into slices, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast to golden perfection. We added a yummy black garlic aioli for an extra depth of flavour.

Ingredients

• 1 x Top Tomato green cabbage
• 5-8 August's Harvest black garlic cloves
• Juice of 1 Mike & Mike's lemon
• 1/4 cup of Olive Farm olive oil
• 2 x Homestead Farm egg yolks
• 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Cut & Roast Your Cabbage Steaks

Cut your cabbage into steaks starting from the top of the cabbage and working your way to the bottom. Cutting the cabbage this way will help keep all the layers of cabbage leaves in tact.

Pour olive oil into a small bowl with salt and pepper, stir well.

Arrange your cabbage wedges on your prepared baking sheet and brush both slides of the cabbage with your olive oil, salt and pepper mixture.

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes then carefully flip cabbage over and let roast for an additional 30 minutes.

This cooking time will depend on the size of your cabbage. The one used in this recipe was quite large so it's best to check at the 15 minute mark to see how the cabbage looks and if it is ready to flip. You really want a golden brown on the tops of your cabbage wedges!

Make Your Black Garlic Aioli

While your cabbage is roasting, make your black garlic aioli. In a small bowl, whisk together your two Homestead egg yolks and lemon juice.

Transfer this to a food processor and while the processor is running, start drizzling in your olive oil.

If the mixture starts to break down, stop adding the oil and keep processing until it comes together again. Then continue adding the oil.

Take your black garlic cloves and, using the side of the blade of your chefs knife, carefully crush the black garlic cloves to create a paste like you're spreading butter on toast. The cloves are very soft so this will not take much pressure.

Once you have the paste, add this to the food processor with some salt and pepper and continue mixing until combined. Set aside.

Get Ready to Serve!

Once your cabbage wedges are finished roasting, remove them from the oven and drizzle with black garlic aioli.

You can garnish with some green onions or sliced pietro peppers for a little bit of heat! Enjoy.