Happy holidays! Right after Thanksgiving, we hopped on a plane and headed to our 2nd favorite city, NYC. We had never visited before the holidays, so this was our opportunity. Our first night, we braved the crowds on 5th avenue, walked by the fabulous windows at Bergdorf, Chanel, and YSL, and enjoyed Saks’s light show. I can see why folks love Christmas in New York.
Being from California, there is a good chance we will be outside in shorts and flip-flops, barbecuing on Christmas Day. Not exactly the classic holiday vibe. Lucky for us, the temperature at touchdown in New York hovered around 30 degrees. Excited to experience a Hallmark holiday movie prerequisite, frosty weather.
It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas
It snowed on our third day in NYC, so we headed to Riverside Park with Moose in tow to play in the snow. There’s not a ton of snow, but enough to satisfy Moose’s Bernese Mountain Dog side.
Not surprisingly, we stayed home more than usual and cooked a bit more during this trip. One night, at Jamie’s request, we made her favorite spaghetti sauce, adapted from Patricia Wells’ Trattoria. It’s delicious, homey, and just the dish to power us through holiday shopping.
We are staying at a friend’s apartment in the LES. I LOVE this part of town. Gritty, urban, and diverse. The food scene is unbeatable; Chinatown, East Village, and West Village are all within walking distance. Meals range from cheap eats to will my last paycheck cover this? Google map bucket list of my favorite restaurants here.
One of our let’s stay home, it’s too cold out there meal was Charred Cabbage with Creamy Miso from a fav blog, SaltnPepperHere. It’s hearty, filled with umami, and easy to make.
Let’s Get To It
Good old regular cabbage works for this. Clean and cut into wedges. The original recipe calls for 1/2 head. I used an entire small head of cabbage. Same with the mushrooms, wipe clean and slice. Use mushrooms you like, a variety is nice. Don’t use all button, that’s boring, lol. I like Shiitakes, Creminis, Oyster, King Trumpets…
Sheet Pan Magic
Sheet pan magic takes care of the cooking. You will need two sheet pans. Place cabbage in one pan, season, and drizzle with oil. The mushrooms will not take as long as the cabbage; have the mushrooms oven-ready. Place in oven about 5 minutes after the cabbage. No need to salt as the sauce will have plenty of flavor. Slide it into the oven. Your work is done.
Lunch the next day was a snap, heated a packet of udon noodles, mixed with the remaining cabbage.
And, it’s vegetarian! BUT, if you really want additional protein, leftover rotisserie chicken is a great match.
Check out my IG reel for this dish!
Charred Cabbage with Creamy Miso Mushrooms
Equipment
- 2 sheet pans with sides
- parchment or silicon mats
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 8 green cabbage wedges about 1¾” thick with core intact to hold layers together from half a head of cabbage or 1 small -med whole one
- 1 lb mushrooms mix of choice such as enoki, shimeji (beech), black oyster, hand-shredded king (trumpet) oyster, sliced shiitake, cremini, etc. 450g
Da Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ C 120ml water
- ¼ C 60ml heavy cream
- 2 tbsp white or yellow miso paste I like Hikari White Miso, use what you like
- ¼ tsp soy sauce Regular Japanese Soy is fine, or LLK Premium Soy Sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Neutral oil
Garnish
- Chopped chives for garnish or scallions, finely chopped
- Fried shallots for crunch optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment – one for the mushrooms and one for the cabbage. See notes for stove-top cooking.
Oven method: Cabbage
- Place wedges on the second baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides, rubbing to coat evenly. Be generous with the oil, the cabbage can dry out during roasting.
- Roast in preheated oven per directions below, timing mushrooms to go in later so both trays are done at approximately the same time:
- -- Cabbage: Roast 25 to 30 minutes or until outer edges are charred and center is tender when pierced with a knife tip. Flip once midway halfway through
Oven Method: Mushrooms
- Spread mushrooms on baking sheet. Toss with oil but do not season with anything – they will pick up a lot of flavour in the creamy miso sauce later. And salting will draw out moisture during roasting thus preventing them from browning.
- -- Mushrooms: Roast 20 minutes, tossing once at the halfway point, until mushrooms are seared on the edges.
For Creamy Miso Sauce:
- In a medium pot over medium-low heat, add butter and garlic. Sauté a few seconds until the garlic turns light golden, then quickly add the water and miso paste. Whisk until miso is smooth. Add cream and soy sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer (do not boil vigorously). Toss roasted mushrooms in the sauce to coat. Check seasoning, definitely use a couple of grinds of black pepper.
- Place cabbage wedges on serving plate and spoon creamy miso mushrooms over the top. Garnish.
- This makes a great sauce for udon noodles too!
Notes
Cabbage wedges can be roasted/pan fried in advance and reheated in the oven before serving. You may want to undercook them a touch to avoid getting too soft during the reheat.
Pour creamy miso mushrooms over cabbage wedges and garnish with chives just before serving. Nutrition Facts
Calories 324
Fat 9 g
Sat. Fat 4 g
Carbs 59 g
Fiber 24 g
Net carbs 34 g
Sugar 30 g
Protein 14 g
Sodium 384 mg
Cholesterol 16 mg
Yummy
It’s so good and easy!