Cabbage ‘steaks’ are a simple, different, and simply different way to have your cabbage and eat it, too! Sure, you can boil it, braise it, pickle it, fry it, turn it into cole slaw, stuff meat and rice into it and bake it in tomato sauce, but…
How’s about simply slicing, then rubbing it with some smashed garlic, then brushing with good olive, sea salt, and Tellicherry black pepper and baking in a hot oven?
Nice, no?
Yes!
INGREDIENTS
•1 head cabbage
•Olive oil
•3 garlic cloves*
•Sea salt
•Black pepper
*I cheated and used some of this wicked tasty sun-dried garlic spread a friend had given us for Christmas; but freshly smashed garlic and good olive oil would be fine, too.
Heat your oven to 400º and line a large, rimmed baking pan with foil.
Peel off and discard the outer leaves of the cabbage, then cut from the top to the root in one inch thick slices, leaving the core in tact.
If using fresh garlic, smash the cloves to a pulp and brush on both sides of the sliced garlic, then dip a brush in the olive oil and paint both sides of the slices. I simply brushed on the garlic spread.
Season both sides with the sea salt and black pepper, then pop the steaks into the hot oven for 30 minutes.
Carefully flip the steaks (one of mine kinda fell apart, but no worries, it still tasted good in the end), then return to the hot oven for another 30 minutes, until you have browned and somewhat crispity edges.
Serve hot.
We had ours as part of our St. Patrick’s Day feast with corned beef, boxty, some very good horseradish sauce, and soda bread.
Served with a couple of bottles of decent wine and an OK cake for dessert, and we considered ourselves quite well fed. With the nicer weather coming upon us all, you might could even try these on the grill… ermmm, just not for 30 minutes per side, I think. Still, a rub of garlic, a brush of olive oil, then mebbe a drizzle of balsamic or sherry peppers, and you could have a new summer fave!