The past three months in Buenos Aires have been an exciting time for me – getting adjusted to a new city, learning Spanish, and settling into a new food routine (an amazing verduleria down the street for fresh, great quality vegetables when I feel like cooking and a cheap empanada place for when I don’t). But I’m taking a little break now from Argentina to check out Montevideo for a month. As I was preparing to leave, one of the main things I focused on was cleaning out my kitchen, and this recipe was great for the half head of cabbage rolling around in my refrigerator and the dried shiitake mushrooms sitting in the back of my cabinet. I’m already a big cabbage fan, but roasting cabbage just might be my new favorite preparation. As with most vegetables, roasting draws out the natural sweetness of cabbage and makes it easy to eat a lot of without even thinking about how healthy it is. I brushed the cabbage with sesame oil to pair with the Asian flavors of the shiitake mushrooms which are cooked in their soaking water along with soy sauce and sugar, boiling down to a flavor-packed glaze. Not a bad way to use up the last of some basics on my kitchen – now it’s time for me to start stocking up my new place.
Roasted Cabbage with Soy-Glazed Shiitake Mushrooms (adapted from Opera Girl Cooks)
Yield: 2 – 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms
- boiling water
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce*
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cabbage, cut into 4 wedges and core removed
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- sesame seeds
*If you can’t eat gluten, make sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce.
Method:
- Cover 2 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms with boiling water, and let sit until rehydrated, about 30 minutes.
- Once the mushrooms are rehydrated, remove from the soaking water, and slice, then transfer to a pot along with the soaking water (leaving behind any sediment that has settled to the bottom), 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and 2 Tbsp sugar. Bring to a boil, and let cook until the water has all cooked down and left the mushrooms with a glaze, about 20 – 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Brush 1/2 cabbage, cut into 4 wedges and core removed with 2 Tbsp sesame oil, making sure to coat both cut sides, then arrange in a roasting pan.
- Roast the cabbage until the edges are starting to brown, about 15 minutes, then flip and continue roasting until the other side has started browning, another 15 minutes or so.
- Serve the cabbage with the mushrooms, topped with sesame seeds as well as extra soy sauce, as needed.
