Lines on the leaves: Yotam Ottolenghi’s cabbage recipes | Food (2024)

I feel the same way about the cabbage family. I’ve nothing against green curly kale – the current favourite – but more often than not I’ll reach for the less venerated brussels sprouts, firm white cabbage, pale green Chinese cabbage, stout white turnips and the dark green leaves of a crinkly savoy. For anything to be worthy of the term “sexy”, I think it needs to be versatile and receptive to different contexts, to stand out in a range of outfits and situations.

Give me a simple white or green cabbage any day. Once it’s been through a mandolin, the possibilities are as wide as the mountain of shredded cabbage is high. It can then be served stuffed with rice and herbs and studded with jewel-like golden raisins and toasted pine nuts; or in a julienne of root veg with a citrussy herb dressing; or slow-roasted in chunky wedges almost on its own, with a few aromatics and a little stock; or as part of seven-vegetable tagine seasoned with stock bones, turmeric and cumin, and spooned over steamed couscous. I could carry on, but by now it’s probably plainly evident the world of cabbages is my oyster.

Cabbage and pot barley soup with whipped feta

When shaving off the lemon peel, be sure to avoid the white pith: it spreads its bitterness wherever it goes. Serves four.

2 tbsp olive oil
30g unsalted butter
3 medium carrots, cut into 1cm dice
1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced
3½ tbsp brown miso
20g bunch parsley
2 bay leaves
5g thyme sprigs
10g bunch tarragon
2 sticks celery (with leaves, ideally)
Shaved peel of ½ lemon
100g pot barley, rinsed
Salt and black pepper
½ savoy cabbage, core removed, the rest cut into long, 1.5cm-wide wedges
100g enoki mushrooms, separated into clumps

Start with the sauce. Put the feta, parmesan, lemon juice and a tablespoon of water in a bowl, and whisk to a paste. Fold through the chives and put in the fridge to chill.

Put the oil and butter in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the carrots, onion and miso, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the onions have softened but not taken on any colour.

While the soup is cooking, bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage wedges and cook on a high heat for three to four minutes, until just cooked: you want them to keep their shape and colour. Drain, refresh and dry.

Remove and discard the bouquet garni from your broth and bring it back to a simmer. Add the mushrooms and cabbage, stir through for 30 seconds, just to warm through, then spoon a couple of wedges of cabbage into each of four wide, shallow soup bowls. Top with the mushrooms and carrots, pour over the broth and serve with the sauce spooned on top..

Spiced cabbage and chana dal

I’d been planning to make cabbage and chana dal fritters – after all, few things can’t be improved with a bit of frying – but this combo is too good not to serve just as it is. Use a food processor or mandolin to shred the cabbage to the required fineness. Serve as a light meal, in which case this serves four, or as one dish among many in a larger meal.

For the yoghurt sauce
300g Greek yoghurt
15g coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp lime juice

Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl with a quarter-teaspoon of salt, mix well and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

Bring a medium pan of water to a boil and add the dal. Simmer for 35 minutes on a medium heat, until the dal is tender but not falling apart, then drain and set aside to cool.

Clean the pan, fill it again with water and bring to a boil. Add the beans, blanch for five minutes, until just cooked, drain, refresh and drain again.

Put a large sauté pan on a medium-high heat and add the oil. Once hot, add the onion and fry for seven to eight minutes, until starting to turn golden-brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, ginger, lime peel, chillies, curry leaves, cumin, coriander and half a teaspoon of salt. Fry for five minutes more, stirring from time to time, until the leaves are aromatic and crisp. Remove and discard the lime peel and stir in the dal. Cook for two minutes to heat through, mashing the dal slightly with a potato masher, then stir in the green beans, cashew nuts and drained cabbage, and remove from the heat. Serve warm or at room temperature, with the sauce on the side.

Asian slaw with two-hour pickled ginger

75ml rice-wine vinegar
20g palm sugar (roughly grated if using a block)
6cm x 4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
3 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp mirin
Salt
1 medium Chinese cabbage, core discarded, the rest cut into 5mm strips
150g brussels sprouts, trimmed and very finely sliced
150g mangetout, cut on an angle into 2mm thick strips
2 green chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
15g Thai basil leaves, roughly chopped
10g tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp mixed sesame seeds (or just white, if you can’t get black), toasted

Put the ginger in a large bowl with all the remaining ingredients, pour on the dressing, toss to coat and serve

• Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.

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