With the new year, you’re inevitably trying to make better choices and cutting out some of your vices. I find that it’s easier to do more of something than less, especially if it’s delicious. Make your task incorporating more vegetables in your meals. I don’t mean that you should choke down forkfuls of raw spinach (unless that’s your jam). I implore you to try out recipes that appeal to your palate. Eating more veggies is about variety as much as it is about fiber and nutrients, in my opinion. Otherwise, where’s the joy?
Here’s where I make the case to eat cabbage. Roasted cabbage is truly underappreciated. Roasting brings the sweetness out of usually bitter vegetables. Cabbage has range — it complements everything from cheese to fish sauce. If you think of it as a noodle, whatever goes well with noodles is likely to work with roasted cabbage. Cabbage is a fairly cheap vegetable and it will reduce significantly as it cooks, so don’t be afraid to buy a whole head of it.
If you add some bean sprouts, green onions and chicken, it could be a main dish on its own.
Roasted Cabbage with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
• 6 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon avocado/olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 medium or large cabbage
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts (omit if you are using chunky peanut butter)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 lime cut into wedges
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and lightly oil a 15-by-21-inch sheet pan (a 13-by-18-inch pan would also work). Whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, oil, sesame oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Add a little more sugar, to taste, if you’re using unsweetened peanut butter. Don’t worry about it being salty.
Cut wedges off the cabbage and slice thinly (about 1/2 centimeter wide), lengthwise into strips until you have roughly 8 cups. Use the core for another purpose or discard. I used green cabbage but added some purple cabbage for color. Add the cabbage to the bowl and toss with your hands, separating and evenly coating the shreds. Spread out the cabbage onto the sheet pan.
Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Take it out of the oven and sprinkle it with shredded carrots. Then, toss the lot together using tongs and spread it out evenly. Return it to the oven for 15 more minutes. Toss and spread again. Roast once more for 10 minutes, or until done to your liking. If you’re using a standard-size sheet pan, you may need to toss it and bake for another 10 minutes. The final product will be dramatically reduced and some should be browned.
Move to a serving bowl and top with cilantro and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges and instructions to squeeze the lime over your portion before eating.
Serves 2-4.
Mariko Jackson writes about family and food. Email her at thelittlefoodie@gmail.com.
