Baked cabbage with herb yogurt and walnut-pomegranate topping
What do vegan spring rolls and chili wontons have in common? Exactly! They are the only recipes on our blog using pointed cabbage. And that's even though this type of cabbage has so much to offer despite its unassuming appearance. Compared to classic white cabbage (which we find much more frequently in recipes), pointed cabbage has a more subtle and delicate flavor and, therefore, offers a variety of preparation options – whether fried, cooked, or even raw. So it's time to give it a starring role in our play.
The pointed cabbage
We prepare the cabbage in the oven, as this has several advantages: The roasting gives it a wonderfully hearty flavor, and while the pieces are cooking in the oven, we can take care of the toppings and side dishes – perfect! To make it easier to control the degree of browning, we fry the pointed cabbage quarters briefly in oil beforehand and then leave them in the oven, mostly covered. This means they don't get too dark too quickly, and you can easily adjust the cooking time depending on the size of the cabbage. It is important to rub the edges of the cabbage with plenty of salt before processing and leave it to stand for at least 30 minutes. Of course, you can also do this in advance. If you don't have time for this, you can also put the pointed cabbage straight into the oven, but experience has shown that it tends to get more crunchy then.
**Is there a side dish? **
As the recipe focuses on the pointed cabbage, we haven't made any side dishes. You can, of course, still prepare a side dish of your choice to make the dish a little more filling. For example, boiled potatoes, rice go well with it
or, if you are looking for something rich in protein, vegan minced meat.
**The topping **
As the marinade gives the baked pointed cabbage a hearty, savory flavor, the topping is a fresh herb yogurt and a sweet and sour walnut-pomegranate topping. We used fresh parsley and mint for the yogurt, but you can use any herbs you have at home – fresh herbs just make all the difference here. For the crunchy topping, all you need to do is deseed half a pomegranate (the easiest way to do this is in a water bowl) and finely chop the walnuts. Now, all you have to do is wait until the pointed cabbage is cooked in the oven until buttery soft.
So give pointed cabbage a chance the next time you see it. I promise you it will be worth it!
Baked cabbage with herb yogurt and walnut-pomegranate topping
Ingredients
For the cabbage:
1 pointed cabbage
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp mustard
1 tsp paprika powder (sweet)
0.5 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp agave syrup
salt
pepper
**For the herb yogurt: **
250 g (8.75 oz)soy yogurt
1 clove of garlic
15 g (0.5 oz) fresh mint
40 g (1.5 oz) fresh parsley
**For the walnut-pomegranate topping: **
20 g (0.75 oz) walnuts
0.5 pomegranate
0.5 lemon (juice)
Instructions
First, wash the cabbage thoroughly. Cut off the stalk generously, then cut the cabbage into quarters. Place the quarters in a casserole dish with the cut sides facing upwards and rub them with plenty of salt. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Mix olive oil, mustard, paprika powder, chili powder and agave syrup to make the marinade. Brush the cabbage thoroughly with the marinade. Keep the rest of it and set aside.
Fry the pieces in a pan for 4–5 minutes in a little oil on both sides of the cut to get a good brown color. Then place them back in the baking dish, cover and bake in the oven at 200 °C / 390 °F (convection heat) for approximately 40 minutes. Depending on the desired color, remove the cover in the last few minutes so the cabbage becomes darker.
In the meantime, finely blend the ingredients for the yogurt with an immersion blender and season with salt and pepper. For the topping, chop the walnuts, deseed the pomegranate in a water bowl, and mix both with some lemon juice.
Serve the pointed cabbage with the herb yogurt, the walnut and pomegranate topping and the leftover marinade.
