Purple (sometimes called red) cabbage is cheap, abundant, versatile and healthy. It’s also quite beautiful, especially when presented in layered frayed half-moons. Roasted cabbage wedges are part tender, part crispy. They’re an easy and delicious way of adding a pop of colour to your meals. There’s no need to pre-boil the cabbage. All the cooking is done in the oven.
We cut a cabbage into wedges through the root to help hold the layers together. We brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and salt. The cabbage ‘steaks’ are roasted in a hot oven. They'll shrink down, keep some ‘bite’, but will be softened. The frayed edges which were more exposed to the oven's heat will start to caramelise. They'll even char slightly. The cabbage will sweeten and get more mellow. It will lose any of the bitterness sometimes associated with raw cabbage.
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Roasted cabbage requires minimal effort to get delicious results. Maybe you fancy cabbage, but you're seeking an alternative to coleslaw (even though we adore it)? Maybe you have a lone, slightly limp cabbage wedge in your fridge that’s longing for purpose? This recipe is your answer. It’s easy to scale up or down. Roasted cabbage is best served fresh with crispy edges, but will still taste delicious reheated (or even cold!). You can get them ready for the oven in advance.
The trick to success is roasting these long enough that you get some charred edges. These look and taste great! The crisp edges add wonderful textural contrast to the softer inside.
💭 Ways to use
- Snack on them cold
- Shred and add to salads/Buddha bowls
- Elevate your roast meats with a side that's both elegant and hearty.
❓ Variations
- Use green cabbage instead
- Sprinkle with finely grated parmesan towards the end of the bake time
- Sprinkle with caraway or fennel seeds
- Sprinkle with bacon bits
- Add ground spice to the olive oil before brushing onto the wedges
- Spritz with lemon juice after roasting while still hot
- Baste with melted chicken schmaltz (fat) or beef drippings for a (non-veggie) flavour boost
🌈Other bright veggie side dishes
I love serving at least three vegetable side dish options with my meats (not including white potatoes, which usually feature in some form!). Other go-to options include:
- this mash made with four different orange vegetables
- perfect make-ahead greens
- Ratatouille Tian is a beautiful layered dish featuring Mediterranean vegetables in a rich tomato sauce. It’s perfect for serving hot, warm or cold.
- Gemista are whole vegetables stuffed with soft rice and roasted. They ugly-delicious and add a wonderful pop of colour.
🥘 Ingredients
Doesn’t get much simpler – cabbage, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Purple/Red Cabbage – try to buy a densely layered one that is heavy for its size. This will be easier to cut neatly with less chance of falling apart. Not the end of the world by the way. We need half a cabbage for this recipe. I recommend buying in ready cut halves for convenience, even if you’re scaling this up. It’s tricky to cut a large round thing in half, especially if you're aiming to cut through a certain point (the stem).
💩 Is cabbage low FODMAP?
Purple and green cabbage are relatively low FODMAP. The two types contain different forms of FODMAPs. Either way, the Monash app (the oracle on FODMAPs) states that ¾ cup is within normal limits for both. This isn’t particularly helpful because it doesn’t state what preparation for the cups. There would be a difference in the weight of a tightly packed ¾ cup of finely shredded cabbage versus ¾ cup of boiled cabbage. It would be much clearer if the quantity was stated per raw weight. I’ll update this if/when I get clarification on this. One wedge will certainly be fine.
🔪 Instructions
Set the cabbage on a chopping board, cut side down and domed part uppermost. Make sure all your cuts are through the core (stem) of the cabbage. This will help keep the portions held together. You will be able to cut 6-8 wedges from half a cabbage, depending on size. Cut in half through the core. Then decide if you could get 3 or 4 wedges out of each of those pieces and cut those, again through the core. Aim to get all the wedges around the same thickness.
When roasting anything, avoid overcrowding the pan. Brush the wedges with olive oil on the exposed surfaces, then season with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Place in an oven preheated to 200°C. After 10 minutes, gently turn the wedges onto the other side and repeat the basting and seasoning.
Bake for another 10 minutes, until the edges are slightly charred.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- Half a purple/red cabbage
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat Oven – to 200°C.
- Prep Cabbage – peel away and discard any discoloured, damaged outer leaves.Half a purple/red cabbage
- Portion Cabbage – set the cabbage on a chopping board, cut side down and domed part uppermost. Make sure all your cuts are through the core (stem) of the cabbage. This will help keep the portions held together. You will be able to cut 6-8 wedges from half a cabbage, depending on size. Cut in half through the core. Then decide if you could get 3 or 4 wedges out of each of those pieces and cut those, again through the core. Aim to get all the wedges around the same thickness.
- Lay Out – transfer the wedges carefully to a rimmed non-stick baking sheet (or two) with some space between them.
- Coat – brush each wedge all over on the exposed edges with some olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.4 tablespoons olive oil¼ teaspoon salt⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Bake – for around 10 minutes. Carefully turn the slices to expose the other side and repeat the oil, salt and pepper basting.
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