green cabbage — Recipes — Prospect Heights CSA

From Donabe - Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking.

Shared by CSA member Salome Blignaut

Featured CSA veggies: green cabbage, carrot, potato, broccoli

Notes on the cookbook: I’ve found that many of the recipes in this beautiful book feature ingredients or cooking methods that can make it a stretch to incorporate regularly into my cooking. However, I wanted to share one of a few wonderful, classic stews (nabe) that can easily be adapted to be made vegetarian, to use of vegetables on-hand, and can be cooked in any pot on the stovetop (no donabe required). This particular miso hot pot is rich, comforting, and immune-supportive in cool weather.

KYOTO-STYLE SAIKYO MISO HOT POT SAIKYO NABE

SERVES 4
EQUIPMENT: One 2.5-quart/2.5 L or larger classic-style donabe
VEGAN OPTION: Omit the pork or use tofu
SHIME (FINISHING COURSE) SUGGESTION: Add ramen to the remaining broth.

Pinch of sea salt
1/2 head green cabbage (about 10 ounces/300 g), cut into strips
1 medium carrot (about32 ounces/100 g), julienned into 1/8-inch (3 mm) strips
1 head broccoli (about 8 ounces/240 g), cut into bite-size pieces
1 russet or white potato (about 8 ounces/240 g), peeled and julienned into 1/4-inch (5 mm) strips 1 pound (450 pork belly, cut into bite-size pieces
4 cups (1 L) kombu and Bonito Dashi
Saikyo miso or other sweet white miso
2 tablespoons white sesame paste (tahini is fine)
1/2 teaspoons unseasoned rice vinegar or more if desired
Karashi (Japanese mustard),
for serving: can substitute Dijon mustard for a milder flavor

“We tasted this nabe dish at the historic headquarters of the Saikyo miso maker Honda Miso in Kyoto, and we fell in love with the creamy broth and elegant flavor. The secret ingredient is a splash of vinegar, which adds a refreshing accent to the sweet miso flavor. You can also adjust the amount of Saikyo miso in this dish according to your taste."—Naoko

To cook the vegetables and meat. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add a generous pinch of salt. Add the cabbage and blanch until it's partly cooked but still crisp, about 30 seconds. Strain the cabbage out of the water and let it cool down.
Using the same pot of water, repeat the process, first for the carrot and then for the broccoli, blanching each for 30 to 60 seconds.

Finally, blanch the potato in the same pot of water for about 2 minutes, until slightly tender, and drain.
Heat a sauté pan over medium and sauté the pork belly pieces just until the meat is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
To make the broth: Pour the dashi into the donabe, cover, and set over medium-high heat. As soon as the broth starts to boil, turn down the heat to simmer. In a bowl, whisk together until smooth the Saikyo miso and sesame paste with a ladleful of broth from the donabe, and then stir the mixture into the donabe.
Add the cabbage, potato, and pork belly, side by side, followed by the broccoli and carrot, pushing them between the other ingredients. Cover and bring back to a simmer and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and drizzle with the vinegar.
Serve in individual bowls at table, with the karashi on the side.

From CSA member Maya Binyam and Evan

Marinated Beet Salad with Pistachios and Dill (Maya)

For an autumnal meal that gets better as it sits in the fridge, I make marinated beets. After scrubbing and trimming the beets, I wrap them in aluminum foil, and bake them in a 375-degree oven until they’re tender (but haven’t yet turned to mush). Once they’ve cooled off a bit, I remove the skin, and crush them with the flat side of a knife, rip them into irregular bite-sized pieces, and place them in a large, heat-proof glass tupperware. In a small skillet, I fry fennel seeds in a few tablespoons of oil. Once the oil is hot and the seeds are toasted, I pour both over the beets, and mix in a few splashes of aged sherry vinegar, as well as a big pinch of salt. I let the beets sit at room temperature for a few hours, and then either move them to the fridge, or prepare them for a salad. When I’m ready to eat, I mix them with chopped pistachios and dill. If I have citrus around, I’ll sometimes segment an orange or grapefruit and mix that in, too.

Pearl Cous Cous with Roasted Cabbage (Evan)

Cabbage is the best vegetable. It’s crunchy, it’s sweet, it’s big and round. What more could anyone want from a vegetable? In this simple recipe I roast my cabbage until slightly charred, and then finish in a skillet, to eventually serve over pearl cous cous. Slice the whole head cabbage in wedges (usually in eighths, but this can depend on the size of the cabbage) so that it is in chunks, with several leaves attached at a corner point. Dress the cabbage in olive oil, salt, sumac, aleppo pepper, and a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, and roast in the oven at 450 degrees. While the cabbage is roasting, prepare your cous cous. Cook minced onion and garlic in hot oil for a few minutes. Add a cup of cous cous, salt, and sumac, and fry until the cous cous starts to toast a bit. Add 1.5 cups chicken or veggie (or even miso) stock, and cover. Cook until all the liquid is absorbed. In a frying pan melt butter. Once melted add sliced onion and cook. Remove the cabbage from the oven when is it is soft and starting to char around the edges. When the onions begin to caramelize, add the cabbage wedges and all of their liquids. Toss to combine in the pan, and add lemon juice and chopped dill. Serve the cous cous on a platter with the cabbage and onion mixture spread on top. Zest a lemon and sprinkle some dill over the top.