One of my favorite things to do with cabbage is to turn it into cabbage steaks. It is such a simple way to turn cabbage into a gourmet side dish. Almost every time I make this, people remark on how tasty it is. Cooking to impress others doesn’t have to be your goal, but it’s pretty great when a recipe does this consistently. All you need is a cabbage, garlic, olive oil, and salt & pepper. The next time you get a cabbage at CSA pick-up, give this recipe a try!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Cabbage
- Garlic, several cloves
- Olive Oil, 1/2 cup
- Salt & Pepper
PREPARATION
- Begin pre-heating the oven at 400 degrees. Set cabbage head on your cutting board with the stem side down.
2. Slice cabbage into 3/4″ – 1″ thick slices. Notice how, by keeping the stem side down, the stem helps to hold together the cabbage steaks.
3. Place cabbage steaks on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
4. Mince several cloves of garlic.
5. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic, and approximately 2 tsp. of salt, and some black pepper. Feel free to adjust the amount of salt to your preference. I find that the cabbages can absorb a decent amount of salt without tasting salty, so that’s why I’m kind of generous with the salt. The end goal is to create a savory cabbage steak. Stir the mixture until the salt is dissolved.
6. Coat each cabbage steak evenly with this special garlic olive oil.
7. Put the cabbage in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then take it out to check on it. If the edges are looking extra crispy, turn the temperature down to 350 and continue cooking for another 15 minutes or so. The goal is to have crispy, blackened edges, and a wonderful brown surface. Once this is achieved, remove from oven and enjoy your cabbage steaks!
Note: I find that it’s usually better to over cook them. The water content combined with the general hardiness of the the cabbage makes it difficult to burn. The crispy edges are so delicious, and you should be able to eat most of the stem parts.