Oven Roasted Cheesy Cabbage

Loreto April 17, 2015

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A great side dish, or can be also eaten as a main vegetarian plate: Oven Roasted Cheesy Cabbage. Try it, you might even get your children to eat it.

I am always reminded of a movie every time I think of cabbage. The movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. I remember the scene set in England, it is winter a pan shot Charlie, is running home after doing his jobs to bring money to his mom, old rickety door opens and in the deteriorated walls of a living room/kitchen there are two beds and Charlie’s grandpa Joe, grandma Josephine, grandpa George, grandma Georgina laying there lifeless, a very poor family, steam coming from a pot in the kitchen and what’s cooking in the kitchen? Yes! CABBAGE SOUP!!!!!! This vegetable doesn’t seem to be a favorite amongst most vegetables, although I think the purple cabbage is enjoyed more than the green cabbage and maybe people are turned off from the odor it emanates when cooked. There is always coleslaw which is a tasty side dish to any BBQ, and cabbage rolls both in a sweet tomato sauce or plain with bacon and onion.

Cabbage has been farmed for over 4000 years and has been used in domestic kitchens for approximately 2500 years. It is said that cabbage was mostly connected to the Celtic culture, and they brought it from Asia about 600 BC. Very popular in cold climate zones, as yields are high, and stores very well in the winter months. I remember seeing it in the winter growing in gardens in Italy, pretty well the only vegetable growing. Cabbage has many benefits including: weight loss (low in calories), brain food (high in vitamin K and anthcyanins), helps with hair nail and skin (has sulfur), Detoxifies the body ( high in vitamin C and sulfur), it is anti cancerous (has lupeol, sinigrin, sulforaphane), Helps with high blood pressure (high in potassium), a warm compress made with cabbage leaves is supposed to relieve headaches, supposed to relieve hang overs too, and is an anti inflammatory. Keep in mind that they say the red cabbage is stronger in benefits, and the less you cook the less you loose in nutrients.

Today, much to the dismay of most children, I am not going to make cabbage soup, lol, maybe another day.

Today’s recipe is a great side dish, or can be also eaten as a main vegetarian plate: Oven Roasted Cheesy Cabbage.

Slightly boiled to give it that smooth soft texture inside, and roasted in the oven caramelizing the natural sugars, bringing a crispiness to the edges, baked with tomatoes and a minced fried mirepoix, topped with a crispy, chewy ewy gooey melted cheese. Every thing is better with cheese. wasn’t that a slogan for one of the cheese conglomerates? I think it was the Alberta cheese producers, maybe? I love this dish, a nice acidity from the tomatoes, subdued a bit by the sweetness of the sautéed onions, celery, carrots (mirepoix). A hint of pungent from the cabbage and made all good with a nice melted Asiago and Parmigiano. Saliva tingly satisfying.