This recipe marks an important turning point in my kitchen. From now until mid-November, I am going to try and use only [okay fine… mostly] produce that I get from my CSA! It actually started last Friday with my strawberry rhubarb hand pies, but I am officially announcing it here!
This is my first year participating in a CSA, and I’m taking it on as a personal cooking challenge. For those who don’t know, CSA stands for community supported agriculture, and becoming member means that I buy a ‘share’ of a local farmers harvest. Every week, I get a box of fresh farm produce… whatever the farmer has ready that week. What makes this so exciting is that a. I get fresh, organic, grown with love vegetables [I also bought a fruit share] every week and b. I am forced to experiment with new ingredients that I might not buy on my own.
It’s like an episode of Chopped every week!
My haul this week includes: Chinese Cabbage, Boc Choi, Red Sails Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Chinese Cabbage, Mizuma, Sage, Sorrel, and Garlic Scapes [can you say pesto?!]
I am excited by all of these vegetables, but for some reason the Chinese cabbage really spoke to me.
It was like word association: the second someone said cabbage, I said Braised. Spicy. Red Wine. [Which is especially weird because I can’t recall ever braising something in my life.]
The cabbage is spicy and still has a nice, crisp texture while the red wine flavor builds and lingers in your mouth. If I ate steak, I imagine this dish would be the perfect compliment.
Boozy Braised Cabbage
Serves 1 big or 2 small portions
2 cups Chinese cabbage, stems and leaves included
¼ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. Soy Sauce
2 T. Red wine
1/8 – ¼ t. red pepper flakes
1 T. Grapeseed [sunflower, olive] oil
1 t. Toasted sesame oil
S+P to taste
Slice the cabbage into pieces that are approximately ½ inch wide. Set aside.
Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
Combine the soy sauce, red wine, and red pepper flakes in a glass. Set aside.
Heat the oil + sesame oil in a pan with a lid over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic for 2 minutes, or until the onion just starts to soften. Add the cabbage, and cook for another 1-2 minutes to caramelize the cabbage a little.
Pour the sauce into the pan and immediately cover. Turn the heat down low, and cook for another 5 minutes.
Happy Farming!
Beyond the Batter 