Yesterday, in traditional Irish-American Saint Patrick’s Day fashion, we had corned beef and cabbage for dinner. It turns out that corned beef is not an Irish national dish, but the Irish-American culture incorporated it into their celebrations in the late 19th century as a substitute for bacon.
I’m not sure that Mike or I have enough Irish to qualify as lineage of any sort, but we like to celebrate, anyway! I also love any excuse to make a “traditional” holiday menu.
One of my favorite ways to prepare cabbage is to roast it. The way the edges crisp up and the top layer gently steams and cooks the underlying cabbage, gives it a wonderful flavor. It maintains a caramelized sweetness, but there is still just enough crunch.
I also love the fact that you can let the oven do the work for you rather than having to stand over the stove to sauté or monitor a boiling pot of water.
I toss thinly shredded strips of red and green cabbage in olive oil, salt and pepper and then roast on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until it browns and cooks through.
I do make a point to check on the cabbage after about 15 minutes and rearrange the layers on the cookie sheet so everything evenly roasts. This also keeps the top layer from becoming too brown.
Once I remove from the oven, I toss the cabbage in a vinaigrette of whole grain mustard, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. It helps to toss the dressing while the cabbage is still warm so it soaks up the liquid.
I topped it off by adding the remainder of my pickled onions, which gave the cabbage a nice bright and crispy sweetness.
Serve immediately or at room temperature. We had ours alongside potatoes, carrots, garlic and shallots, which were cooked with the corned beef, sliced and topped with a horseradish cream sauce.
Roasted Cabbage with Whole Grain Mustard Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ½ head red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
- ½ head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
- 1 TB olive oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 2 TB whole grain mustard
- 2 TB apple cider vinegar
- pickled onions to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉
- Combine cabbage in mixing bowl and toss with 1 TB olive oil, salt and pepper
- Roast for about 25 minutes or until cabbage begins to brown and is fork tender
- In a separate bowl, whisk mustard, 2 TB olive oil and 2 TB apple cider vinegar
- Pour dressing over warm cabbage and toss to combine
- Add pickled onions and toss again
- Serve immediately or at room temperature
- May be stored in the refrigerator overnight, just bring to room temperature before serving
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