Ottolenghi’s Miso-Braised Cabbage

I hope all my Canadian readers enjoyed their long Thanksgiving weekend. My small contribution to this year’s Thanksgiving spread was my silky smooth braised cabbage. Mostly because it is so easy to make. Also because I remade it last year and it wasn’t as good as I remembered it, so I wanted to try it again. This time, I read the recipe more carefully. I have to cook it for at least 2 hours and 15 minutes. I think I missed a whole hour last time, but this time, 2.5 hours later, we had glorious braised cabbage. Vindicated.

Although while searching for my cabbage recipe, I came across Ottolenghi’s new recipe for miso-braised cabbage. With half a head of cabbage leftover, I vowed to make his version when I returned home. Although, I fell victim to not reading the recipe. Or became confused. I mistakenly cooked it at 400F for 20 minutes and then 200F for another 3.5 hours. As such, my cabbage wasn’t as crispy golden as my other recipe for braised cabbage, but still silky tender, without a drop of oil. I probably could have roasted it for a final 15 minutes at 400F for a crispy exterior but I was quickly running out of time. I kept the original temperature in the directions below for your next attempt.

I often have troubles when I halve or double recipes, so I always make sure to write down the math for every ingredient, but this time the C and F conversion tripped me up. Too much information! How do you usually mess up recipes?

I am sharing this with Bookmarked Recipes, Credit Crunch Munch, Healthy Vegan Fridays and ExtraVeg.

Ottolenghi’s Miso-Braised Cabbage
Adapted from The Guardian

1 small white cabbage, trimmed and cut into 5-cm wide wedges (I used around 2 lbs)
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
300 mL unsalted vegetable broth
2 tbsp white miso paste
2 tbsp lemon juice (half a lemon)

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Place cabbage wedges in a high-sides roasting tray or glass baking dish (mine was 9x 13″). Sprinkle with carrots.

3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepot, heat broth and miso over high heat. Heat until the miso dissolves then pour overtop cabbage. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 20 minutes.

4. Turn heat down to 300F and cook for 2 hours more, turning the cabbage over half-way through. Remove the foil, baste the cabbage and cook for 1.5 hours more, under all the liquid has been absorbed and the cabbage is crisp and a deep golden-brown. (I took mine out earlier since I was running out of time)

5. Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve.

Serves 4 as a side.