The Spicy Spatula

Sometimes you see a recipe and you just have to make it. Sometimes it’s vegan junk food, sometimes it’s a magnificent vegan mushroom recipe and sometimes it’s…cabbage.

Yep, I said it. Cabbage. I know a lot of people have a love-hate relationship with cabbage or eat it because it’s low in calories or high in nutrients, but I love it. When I find a new spin on cabbage, I am always up for the challenge. That’s when when I was browsing Pinterest recently and saw this delicious looking caramelized cabbage recipe from Bon Appetit, my mouth watered.

It literally watered, y’all.

And then I instantly thought of ways I could veganize this recipe and significantly decrease the amount of oil in this recipe because, of course I did.

Get ready for an easy vegan recipe that can stand on it’s own or act as a wonderful side dish to whatever’s on your dinner table.

I should preface this by saying that I personally think this is a full meal on its own. With the addition of some potato bread slices, this was more than enough to satisfy to healthy, fit vegans.

So, let’s do this!

Kitchen Tools:

*Skillet
*Tongs
*Kitchen knife
*Oven safe baking dish (9×13)
*Whisk

Ingredients:

*Green cabbage
*Olive oil
*Leeks
*Garlic
*Tomato paste
*Chili pepper paste
*Chili flakes
*Ground cumin & coriander
*Salt & Pepper
*Lemon juice
*Vegan Cocogurt
*Potato bread

Instructions:

*Preheat oven to 180C/375F

*Make vegan yogurt sauce by whisking together yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, coriander & salt and pepper.

*Cut the cabbage in half and slice into thick wedges. Remember that this is going into the oven for a while so you want to cut them thick enough that they’ll cook without burning.

*Add olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the cabbage wedges about 3 to 5 minutes on each side until they’re lightly charred on at least two sides. Place them on a plate.

*Using the same pan add some water or broth if necessary to clear up the bits of cabbage before you add the leeks. Sauté the leeks until they just start to break down and then stir in the garlic. I sliced them thick-ish because I wanted a nice garlicky flavor, and I also used 30 grams of garlic!!!

*Add in cumin, coriander, salt & pepper and red pepper flakes, stir.

*Add a few heaping tablespoons of tomato & chili paste and stir in well.

*Ladle in water or broth until a thick sauce forms. Bring to a boil and reduce for about 5 minutes until thick but not so thick it won’t cover the cabbage.

*Now it’s time to scoop the sauce on top of the cabbage. I also added a bit to the bottom of the casserole dish, which is why I recommended you place the charred cabbage on a plate rather than directly into the casserole dish. Make sure the cabbage is covered well, this is especially important if you’re not using a lot of oil like the original recipe calls for because–like me–you’ll end up with some burnt ends when you pull it from the oven.

*Bake uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes until the cabbage is soft and caramelized. It may take longer as mine took close to an hour, so after 45 minutes keep an eye on it every 10 minutes or so. I recommend starting the baking process covered if you’re minimizing oil to stop the burnt ends.

*As soon as the dish is cool enough to plate, do it and enjoy it! Top with a few dollops of vegan yogurt sauce and serve with bread. Or whatever you feel like.

Enjoy with an ice cold beer which is totally optional but recommended.

Some links are affiliate links which means I’ll earn money if you buy these products. Feel free to click on the links to help a fellow blogger out! Thanks.