Roasted Cabbage with Bacon Gremolata
The original recipe: Roasted Cabbage with Bacon Gremolata by Simply Recipes
A friend's mom opened my eyes to how sweet and delicious cabbage can be. All she did was chop it up and cook it in a pan with lots of butter and garlic, seasoned with salt and pepper. So simple, but so good. In fact, that is a preparation I still use to this day, but when I saw Simply Recipe's use of the oven and bacon, I bookmarked the recipe immediately.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 green cabbage (mine weighed in at about 1kg)
olive oil
salt & pepper
For the gremolata (see Note #2 below):
2 small Asian-girl sized handfuls of roasted, unsalted almonds, chopped into small bits
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 tsp dry parsley (unless you don't have any or don't want to buy it like me, I recommend you follow the original recipe and use 3 tbsp fresh parsley)
4 slices of hardwood smoked, thick-sliced bacon (NOT cooked to a crisp - see Note #2)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Peel off the outer layer of cabbage and wash the remaining head. Slice into cabbage "steaks" AKA lengthwise. (see Note #1 below for more on slicing and thickness).
3. Lay the cabbage steaks on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and brush both sides with olive oil. Season both sides with salt & pepper.
4. Roast the cabbage in the oven for 17 minutes, then flip and roast for another 20 minutes.
5. While the cabbage is roasting, cook your bacon in a pan. See Note #2 on preference for [non]crispiness.
6. Slice the bacon into smaller pieces, then add to a small bowl along with the chopped almonds, lemon zest, parsley, and salt & pepper to taste.
7. Serve the gremolata on top of the cabbage slices.
My Changes & Notes:
1. The Cabbage.
Cabbages are heavy eh? The one I used weighed approximately 1.039kg. I must admit my slices were slightly thicker than 1" and uneven, which caused both uneven browning and not enough browning. The thinner slices came out beautifully roasted though. Next time I am going to take a lot more care in slicing!
After brushing both sides with olive oil and seasoning with salt & pepper, I roasted the cabbage slices on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil at 450F for about 17 minutes on one side, then flipped them and roasted for another 20 minutes - given the thicker cuts, they probably could have used at least 3-5 more minutes, but my thinner slices were just about to burn. I have to mention, flipping these were a PAIN IN THE ASS. At one point I had tongs and a gigantic spatula going, trying to keep these things together and presentable (hence why I just smothered them in gremolata). The original recipe says not to worry if some of the outer layers unfurl or fall away... well, all my layers were doing that. If you don't need to take pictures, I'd suggest letting the layers run wild! It all tastes the same anyway.
2. The Gremowhata?
For the gremolata, I used:
2x small Asian girl handfuls of roasted, unsalted almonds
The zest of 1/2 a lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 tsp dry parsley (I'd recommend you follow the original recipe and use fresh parsley)
4x slices of hardwood smoked thick sliced bacon NOT cooked to a crisp
The gremolata certainly could have used some freshness that would have come from fresh parsley, but I am SO bad with wasting herbs that most times I avoid them entirely and opt for the dried version instead. I know, it's not the same, but I feel terrible when I forget to use it all up and have to throw it away. Yes, I could freeze them in olive oil, but my ice tray is currently being used for ... ice, plus, as if I have any more room in my tiny freezer.
If you want more crunch, by all means ruin- I mean cook your bacon to a crisp. I also didn't chop up the bacon too finely. Given my husband's love for bacon, the last thing I want to do is make its existence less obvious.
Finally, next time I think I'll use the food processor to chop the almonds. Is it just me, or does it totally suck having to chop almonds with a knife? I must be doing something wrong, with all the nuts flying all over the damn place.
