Seared Savoy Cabbage with Easy Dill and Caper Sauce
I first ate seared cabbage wedges at Luce restaurant in Portland. Luce is my favorite Italian restaurant that I've been to in the United States. Their simple and precise treatment of the finest ingredients is the closest representation of the life changing food I ate while living in Tuscany. Giant wedges of green cabbage seared in garlic oil are brought to the table, their edges golden and crips, leaves tender and toothsome. I attempted recreating their dish with a little flair of my own - a quick and easy dill and caper sauce. Seared cabbage is my favorite way to eat cabbage now, you can sear it on a cast iron pan or grill it. It makes the perfect side to accompany a pork chop, salmon, or can serve as the base for a delicious breakfast, topped with a fried egg and served with crispy potatoes. This one is for all of you cabbage lovers out there, and is, perhaps, the dish to convince those not yet on board the cabbage train to take a ride
Seared Savoy Cabbage with Easy Dill and Caper Sauce
Slice the cabbage into 6 wedges, leaving the core intact so the wedges hold together. Rinse the wedges well with cold running water to make they are clean. Salt the cabbage wedges generously on both cut sides.
In a large cast iron pan over high heat, add 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and 1 Tbsp olive Oil and the two cloves of crushed garlic. Cook until the garlic starts to sizzle and you can smell it. Remove the cloves of garlic and set them aside.
Add the seasoned cabbage wedges. They will sizzle because of the water remaining in their leaves. This will help them steam and get tender. Reduce the heat to medium and cook them for about 5 minutes on each side. They should be deeply golden on both cut edges. Cook them on the back curved side for a couple of minutes to make sure the leaves are nice and tender.
While your cabbage is searing, whip up the dill sauce. Finely dice the shallot and place it in a small bowl with apple cider vinegar, capers, caper brine and mustard. Add a pinch of salt and pepper set aside. Right before you serve the cabbage, finely chop the dill and stir it into the caper mix. Add enough olive oil to make the sauce loose and easy to drizzle, about 3 Tbsp. Top the seared cabbage wedges with caper sauce and enjoy!
Recipe Note
The dill caper sauce is also really delicious over salmon or scrambled eggs so don't throw away the leftovers!
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