These spice-fried cabbage steak wedges will add flavor, nutrition, and substance to your plant-based plate! They are made with a spice blend of turmeric, coriander, cumin and black pepper. The cabbage wedges are steamed before they are finished frying, which gives them an incredible, tender texture. Serve them with whole grains, a vegetarian protein, and a drizzle of sauce for a balanced meal.
My favorite response that I received Vegan week Nothing to do with the recipe in the book so far.
Rather, I am surprised and amazed that my love/hate relationship with cooking, which I describe in the pages of the book, has struck a chord.
Many of you have shared that you struggle with the same emotional barriers to cooking that I do: overwhelm, lack of motivation, and resistance.
My reluctance to cook always increases during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve break week. I usually go to my mother, enjoying the comfort there. I can’t see nutrition clients this week, and frankly, the last thing I have spare time for is cooking.
With all that said, I feel so much better when I start the new year with a fridge full of delicious, homemade food.
Vegan week
Embrace the joy of eating homemade meals every day with hearty and healthy recipes Vegan week.
Whether you have three, two or even an hour to spare, The Vegan Week will show you how to cook varied, colorful and comforting weekend meals.
This is the real message of the new cookbook: Sometimes I have zero motivation to cook, yet I want to enjoy the food that cooks.
Food preparation is the bridge between these two conflicting states. It’s the habit that helps me cook regardless of whether I’m at the point where I love it or hate it.
With that in mind, I’m going to cook some food this weekend. I’ll probably make some of my favorite recipes from the book, since I’m still getting used to having a physical copy.
In the meantime, I can share the tender, sweet and delicious Spiced Cabbage Steak Wedges that I prepared just before the holidays!
What is Cabbage Steak?
Cabbage “steak” is actually a way of preparing cabbage that highlights the heartiness of the vegetable.
It’s the same idea behind cauliflower “steaks” and it’s the principle that makes whole roasted cauliflower so popular.
Some vegetables—cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, some mushrooms—are naturally hearty. They hold up well being cut and served in large pieces. That way, they capture some of the substance and fuller quality often associated with steak dinners.
Why wedges?
Cabbage steak can be cut a few different ways. I’ve seen recipes that call for slicing so that the “steak” is the entire cross-section of the head of cabbage.
This can be difficult to do, however, especially if you have a large head of cabbage on hand.
I find it easiest to cut a head of cabbage in half, then cut each half into wedges.
Besides being an easy way to make “stakes”, I like that the wedges have some variation in thickness/texture.
Why spice-fry?
Cabbage steaks that are simply prepared – with just salt and pepper and some oil – can be very tasty.
But I think the spice blend I used for this recipe really enhances the cabbage.
That spice mix is a combination of turmeric, coriander, cumin, salt and freshly ground black pepper. It is a wonderful blend of warm, sweet, bitter and earthy.
If there’s a spice you don’t care for, you can certainly omit it. You can make substitutions based on your preference, adding different herbs or spices of your choice. This is a flexible recipe!
Achieving a perfect texture
You’ll find that the Cabbage Steak recipe calls for a 2-step cooking process.
First, you roast the cabbage wedges under a layer of foil or tightly wrapped parchment. Then, you remove the foil and let the wedges finish roasting. Each step will take 20 minutes or more.
Why 2 step roasting?
Well, the steaming step ensures that your cabbage steaks are perfectly tender through the center. Uncovered roasting allows them to brown nicely on the surface, but not burn.
I often use this method when roasting vegetables. This is especially useful if you like to roast vegetables without a lot of cooking oil.
Most importantly, it allows your vegetables to be truly tender without encouraging them to crisp up very a lot
One challenge I often find with Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli is that they take a lot of roasting to get tender. Unless they’re deep fried, they tend to get more charred on the edges than I enjoy.
Steam roasting, then uncovering the vegetables, creates the best of both worlds: tender texture without a burnt exterior.
How to make spice-roasted cabbage steak wedges
The two-step roasting process may seem complicated, but all in all, it’s a simple recipe.
Step 1: Cut the cabbage into wedges
You’ll need a nice, sharp chef’s knife for this. I recommend using a moderately large head of cabbage for nice, thick wedges.
It will not be possible to make all wedges identical in size, but try your best. They do not necessarily have to be identical.
Step 2: Coat and rub the spice wedges
For this step, you will transfer the wedges to a prepared baking sheet. Coat each side lightly with avocado oil (or other vegetable oil) and dust with the spice mixture. Repeat on the other side, so that the wedges are spice-rubbed on top and bottom.
Step 3: Fry, covered
For 20 minutes, wedges of cabbage steak will be roasted on their baking sheet with a layer of tightly wrapped foil. This will seal in the flavor and help them be tender all over.
Step 4: Roast, uncovered
Next, you remove the foil and fry the wedges until lightly browned and very tender. This step will take another 15-20 minutes.
When you’re done, you’ll have beautiful golden, flavorful and aromatic wedges of sweet and savory cabbage.
How to serve cabbage steak wedges
There are many ways to enjoy these healthy slabs of veggie goodness.
When I first made these, I took the easy way out, which was to put them in a vegan lunch bowl. It consisted of cooked brown rice, chickpeas, steamed greens, wedges of cabbage steak and a nice drizzle of my turmeric tahini dressing.
The wedges would be a great addition to my cumin-spiced lentils and rice and a nice pop of color.
You can use the wedges to lift a nice slice of smashed avocado toast or add them to a bowl of soup.
And if you need a quick, easy meal, top them with some cooked couscous (or other grain) and a vegetarian protein of your choice (a store-bought vegan meat, some beans, like these brothy white beans, or baked tofu/tempeh). serve)
Add a dressing if you have time. A simple drizzle of nice olive oil and a squeeze of lemon would be good, but I’m also interested in trying the wedges with my yam sauce.
This readily available mix of ingredients will make for a very inviting plate.
Food preparation and storage
Baked Cabbage Steak Wedges can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze leftover wedges for up to 6 weeks, if you have them.
Winter vegetables are more beneficial
Cabbage is readily available year-round where I live, but I always think of it as a winter vegetable. A farmer’s market near me has nice, big round heads of cabbage while few other fresh vegetables are available.
If you like this recipe, here are some more fun, wintery, plant-based dishes to explore:
And I hope that cabbage steak wedges find their way to your table soon.
Production: 4 serving
- 1 Medium large head of cabbage (2-2 1/4 lbs/900-1015g)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Avocado oil (or other vegetable oil for frying)
- 1 teaspoon The soil is yellow
- 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon Again ground pepper
Grilled cabbage steak wedges
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Transfer the wedges to the baking sheet. Drizzle them with half the oil, then use your hands to rub the oil on the cut, upturned surface of the cabbage wedges.
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Next, sprinkle the wedges with half of the spice mixture. Rub the spices onto the upside-down surfaces of the cabbage wedges.
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Turn the wedges over and repeat this process with the other half of the oil and spice mixture, rubbing the spices on both sides of the cabbage wedges and lightly coating them with oil. If you prefer, you can use avocado oil spray instead of drizzle.
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Cover the wedges with a layer of foil, tucking the foil under the edge of the baking sheet to keep it firmly and securely on top of the baking sheet. You may need two overlapping pieces of foil.
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Bake the cabbage wedges for 20 minutes, then remove the foil. The wedges will be tender, but not yet brown.
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Return the wedges to the oven, uncover, and bake them for another 15-20 minutes, or until they’re tender, sweet, and very crispy on the edges. Serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
As always, I’m behind on sharing recipes. But more newcomers are coming.
In the meantime, these tender, fried wedges sound like a good recipe to wrap up 2022. They are as simple as they come, but they have infinite possibilities
I hope you enjoy them. And I’ll be checking in on the weekend reading as the new year begins.
xo