I promised to follow up with the recipe of what I ended up creating after my novel experience shopping in the vegetable section of my local grocery store – and I must admit I’m rather proud of the result!

The final dish ended up having such a depth of flavor that I was so surprised that I had only utilized a few ingredients. Essentially all I did was braise cabbage in beef stock (with sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, a little bit of cumin, and garlic powder for seasoning) and paired it with roasted mushrooms. I kept thinking I was going to want some meat, or at least some kind of sausage (bratwurst works really well with this kind of meal), but I didn’t – and I ended up nicely satisfied without feeling bloated, heavy, or sleepy.

I did debate whether to chop the cabbage into larger chunks, but in the ended settled for the usual slices to shorten the cooking time. The mushrooms I left whole, with a few diced into quarters for a visual contrast – I also wanted to see if the whole mushrooms would given me a ‘meatier’ taste, which it did to an extent (hint: the longer you roast your mushrooms, the ‘meatier’ they taste).

All in all, I’d definitely make this recipe again, but I do think next time I might add finely diced Jalapeno peppers for an added kick and garnish with freshly chopped coriander (to complement the jalapeno flavor I plan to add). This dish would also go really well with a pork roast or chops. It’s a rustic, comfort dish that can act both as a side dish or the star of the show.

Find the recipe below.

Ingredients

Small head of cabbage (about 1.4 lb), thinly slice
8 oz pkg of Whole White Button Mushrooms
1 tbsp unsalted Butter
2 tbsp Garlic powder, divided
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 cup Beef stock
A dash of Olive Oil
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Aged Balsamic vinegar

Method

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees

Prepare your mise-en-place. Quarter the small head of cabbage and thinly slice each section. Clean your mushrooms, halving any that are too large to consume whole.

In a large frying pan on medium, melt the butter and add your cabbage. Sautée the cabbage in the pan for about 5 mins, stirring occassionally (see image 1). Add the salt, pepper (to taste), cumin and garlic powder and continue to sautée until very slightly wilted and fragrant.

Add your beef stock and raise the heat to medium high for a rapid simmer. Simmer at this rate for approximately 8-10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced by half (see image 2).

In the meanwhile, season your mushrooms with salt, pepper and a dash of olive oil to coat them. Line them on a sheet pan and roast them in the oven for 20 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add the balsamic vinegar and reduce the heat on your cabbage to medium low and slow simmer for another ten minutes as your mushrooms finish roasting. The result should look like image 3. Continue to simmer on low until the liquid is almost evaporated.

Both ingredients should be done at around the same time. Serve together in a bowl.