BRAISED CABBAGE w/ FENNEL PAN SAUCE & CASHEW CREAM 🔥
Without a doubt, this is one of the BEST recipes I’ve done for the blog. For the last couple weeks, I’ve been reading & learning more about the fundamentals of cooking. I took every ounce of what I’ve learned thus far and put it into this dish, which celebrates seasonal fall flavors and puts the humble cabbage front and center. Braising is a very common cooking method for cabbage, and now I understand why! The flavor in this just explodes with every bite.
ingredients:
1 head cabbage, first 4-5 leaves peeled off, rinsed, dried, & quartered
olive oil, salt, & pepper as specified
1 large shallot, diced (46g)
1 large carrot, diced (80g)
1 medium red bell pepper, diced (71g)
1 tbsp tomato paste, (16g)
3 large cloves garlic, chopped (18g)
4 cups boiling hot water (910g)
1 heaping tbsp vegetable bouillon (33g)
1 tsp fennel seed (1g)
2 bay leaves
2 cups cooked farro mixed with fresh diced celery, apple, and walnut
fresh dill and diced apple for topping
cashew cream
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 325F. add 2 tbsp olive oil to a large cast iron pan over medium high heat. once oil just starts to smoke, lay each piece of cabbage down on one of the flat sides and sear 5-6 mins. flip to the other flat side and sear another 3-4 mins. remove cabbage from pan and set aside. add another 1 tbsp olive oil to the pan with the shallot, carrot, bell pepper, 2 large pinches of salt, and black pepper to taste. cool down until aromatics have browned, about 3-5 mins. add tomato paste and stir in 1 min. add garlic and fennel with another pinch of salt and black pepper (optionally add a tad more oil here) and stir in 30 seconds. pour the veggie stock in to deglaze, then add the bay leaves. return all 4 pieces of cabbage to the pan on one of the flat sides. bring to a simmer, cover with a lid, and place in the oven for 20 mins to braise. remove the pan from the oven, take the lid off, crank the heat up to 425F, and return the pan to the oven to braise another 15-20 mins.
Remove pan from the oven and take all cabbage wedges out of the pan for a moment. pour the pan sauce into a blender, blitz until smooth, then strain into a small pot and set on very low heat on the stove to keep warm. return cabbage to the pan and place the pan back in the oven to allow the cabbage to roast another 10 mins.
For the cashew cream, combine 1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews with 3/4 cup water in a blender and blitz until creamy smooth.
Serve cabbage in the cast iron with the pan sauce, cashew cream, farro, apple, & fresh dill. dig in and enjoy, my friends 🙏🏼
