Soft, sweet and deliciously charred pointed cabbage pairs perfectly with super savoury, umami miso. I often see miso cabbage as a side on restaurant menus, but I wanted to make a full meal out of it.
On the first recipe test, I served the miso cabbage with just rice, spring onions, coriander and a sprinkling of sesame seeds and it was nice, but I felt it could have done with a little something more.
So, on my second test, I made some super simple honey-chilli cashew nuts to add a bit of sweet-salty-spicy crunch to the dish, and it was delightful. So, what I’m saying is, the cashews are kind of optional, but if you can be bothered, I strongly advise making them, for that extra je ne sais quoi.
Miso roasted cabbage with chilli honey cashews
Serves 2
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 20-30 mins
1 sweetheart cabbage (aka hispi cabbage, aka pointed cabbage, Chinese cabbage)
sesame oil
For the miso dressing:
2 tbsp white miso paste
½ lime, juiced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
For the cashews:
1 ½ tsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp mild chilli powder (or cayenne if you like things hot)
1 tbsp lime juice
2 handfuls (approx 60g) cashews, roughly chopped
To serve:
150g basmati rice
2 spring onions, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
handful coriander leaves
- Pre-heat oven to 200/180 fan. Peel the two large green outer leaves of the cabbage off, finely slice them and set aside for later. Cut the remaining whole pointed cabbage into 4 large wedges, place in a roasting tray, drizzle with sesame oil (around 2-3 tbsp), then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 mins until completely soft and charred at the edges.
- To make the cashews: In a small bowl, mix the lime juice, honey, chilli powder and sesame oil with a large pinch of salt. Chuck in the chopped cashews and stir to coat, then tip onto a small baking tray. Set aside for later – you’ll cook them for the final ten mins of the cabbage time.
- In a small bowl (I used the one from the cashews to save washing up!) mix the miso paste, lime juice and grated ginger with 2 tbsp just boiled water and whisk/stir until fully combined into a sauce-like consistency. Set aside for later.
- Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook your rice according to pack instructions. When there’s about 2 mins of cooking time left, chuck in the shredded cabbage from earlier. Drain.
- When the cabbage only has 10 mins cooking time left, put your cashews in the oven too. They’ll cook fast on a high heat and get all nice and hot and sticky.
- When your cabbage wedges are out of the oven, use a pastry brush to liberally spread your miso sauce all over each wedge, making sure to get all up inside the layers. Serve on top of the rice and shredded cabbage, topped with chopped spring onions, chilli, coriander leaves and the honey-chilli cashews. Each person will get two cabbage wedges.
Anna Lawson eats... 