On Cabbage

My new favorite dinner hit.

Welcome to the Tuesday post for all subscribers, which is all about my now-not-so-secret love affair with cabbage. On Friday, paid subscribers will receive a recipe for roasted cabbage that I have cooked more times this year than I have pizza. A win! As always, if you’re curious what I’m up to in my spare time that is not writing this newsletter, check out my website.

The only way that I had ever encountered cabbage in my childhood was in the form of sauerkraut, a fermented cabbage dish of Germanic origin that my grandfather made us take a bite of every New Years’ Day for good luck. It was always a spectacle, and I don’t think I ever really took it seriously as a food until I was well into my 20s. It was just the thing that you took a bite of to make Papa happy, and I was glad to do so and leave it at that until the following year.

Because I never grew up eating it, it had never occurred to me before this summer to try to cook it. I love kimchi, of course, but cooking with kimchi that has been skillfully made for me by someone else doesn’t quite count.

Over the summer, I bought a cabbage to shoot as a part of my farmers’ market produce series. It sat in my fridge for some time, and, remarkably, didn’t go bad. It didn’t get wrinkly. It kept its beautiful green color. Finally, I caved, thinking “Kudos to you, cabbage. You kept my curiosity and piqued my attention.”

I cut it into wedges and gave it my typical treatment: douse it with olive oil, season it with salt and something spicy, and roast it. I expected something passable. What I got was something that was tender, flavorful, and exciting. The first bite I took made me do a double take. Was I being punk’d? Was there a hidden camera in my kitchen? Is this what cabbage really tastes like?

I was excited but skeptical. After all, I think even I would taste good roasted with enough olive oil and sea salt. I bought another cabbage and sliced it thinly, this time adding smoked sea salt and fennel seeds. That went inside fresh tortillas with Rancho Gordo beans, fresh salsa, and crema. A delight!

That was the moment I fell for this wrinkly, layered vegetable. How something so squeaky and green can transform itself into cabbage rolls, kimchi, an indulgent roast, and a spicy slaw with such grace is mind-boggling. How these tightly packed orbs can outlast a crisper drawer-full of kale, a summer hot spell, and my fridge-it-and-forget-it memory lapses defies reason.

Humble yet multi-hyphenate (as any girl should be in the year of our lord 2024), cabbage is my newest kitchen love affair. On Friday, I’ll share with you my favorite way to cook it, but in the meantime, gaze upon this beauty with me in reverence.

See you back here on Friday for simple roast cabbage! Forward this to a friend who hasn’t seen the cabbage light just yet and you’ll get my undying gratitude.