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Stewed cabbage with goat’s cheese and chimichurri
Serves 4 Starters and mains
For the stewed cabbage
- 1 large white cabbage, as young as possible (approx. 2kg)
- 4 cherry tomatoes
- 1 aci sivri or cayenne pepper
- 3 garlic cloves
- 175ml white wine
- 10 za’atar or oregano sprigs
- 5 rosemary sprigs
- 5 sage sprigs
- 125ml olive oil
For the chimichurri
- 30g za’atar or oregano
- 1 spring onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- zest 1 untreated lemon
- 1tsp sea salt
- 1tsp sugar
- 100ml red wine vinegar
- 160ml olive oil
- 4 slices goat’s cheese roll (such as Sainte-Maure de Touraine)
Method
Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/ Gas 9. Line an ovenproof dish or a deep baking tray with tinfoil and place the cabbage with the stem down on the foil (there should be enough foil to completely enclose the whole cabbage later).
Cut a hole 2-3cm in diameter in the centre of the cabbage head, almost down to the root.
Quarter the cherry tomatoes and halve the aci sivri pepper. Peel, then halve the garlic. Stuff the tomatoes, aci sivri pepper and garlic into the hole in the cabbage and pour in the white wine. Distribute the herbs evenly on and around the cabbage. Drizzle with olive oil, season inside and out with salt and wrap the tinfoil firmly around the cabbage. Stew in the oven for around 2.5 hours, until the cabbage is very soft.
Meanwhile, prepare the chimichurri. Pluck the za’atar leaves from the stems and finely chop. Trim the spring onion, peel the garlic and finely chop both. Combine with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and marinate for 2 hours at room temperature.
Take the cabbage out of the oven and allow it to cool for a bit, then remove the foil and cut the cabbage into 8 wedges.
Place on plates, spoon chimichurri over the top and sprinkle with a little salt. Arrange the goat’s cheese on the cabbage and caramelise with a kitchen blow torch (if you don’t have a blow torch, you can caramelise the cheese by placing the slices on a baking tray under a hot grill until just beginning to brown and bubble before adding to the cabbage). Serve warm.
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