If you like crispy brussels sprouts, you’ll love this beautiful charred napa cabbage with miso butter and sesame sprinkled on top. It turns out I’ve been eating cabbage the wrong way for years, and the only appropriate way to eat it is perfectly blackened and swimming in brown miso butter.
Lately, I’ve been feeling inspired by vegetables again. I love the beauty of a wintry cabbage alongside a humble bowl of creamy white beans or a plate of pasta. I’ve never been the type to eat a dinner made up of a main and sides, but letting each vegetable have its own moment, like this recipe, has changed that for me.
This cabbage is like a beautiful charred wedge salad, and Sam and I ate it as a starter before pasta for dinner. It would also be great served with any sort of meaty main, but you know me! Not a big meat eater. It’s simple, and it only takes about 8 minutes per half, but I like to give each half of cabbage to brown on its own, so be a bit patient. It would be simple to just halve the recipe and make one half of the cabbage, saving the rest for another dish.
Use any type of miso for the butter. I just smashed them together a bit. The bits burned a little in the pan, but just refresh the pan with a little more butter and you’re in good shape!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit.
- 1 napa cabbage
- 4 tbsp grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
- 2 tbsp miso, any color
- 4 tbsp butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- kosher salt
- Rinse your cabbage and peel off just the outer leaves. Slice the cabbage down the center vertically. Smash together 2 tbsp miso and 2 tbsp of the butter with a fork until roughly combined. We'll cook each half of the cabbage one at a time.
- Heat a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp grapeseed oil. Once the oil is glistening, add half your cabbage cut side down. Let the cabbage sear without moving until the cut side is nice and browned and nearly black in the center.
- Add half the miso butter to the pan, coaxing it to melt with a spoon. Once melted, tilt the pan slightly toward you so the butter pools in the bottom. Use the spoon to baste the top of the cabbage in the melted butter, allowing it to cook in the hot butter for another minute or so. Add another tablespoon of butter to the hot pan, let it melt to refresh the brown butter, then baste the cabbage again.
- Remove the cabbage to a plate, slice in half, sprinkle with kosher salt and half the sesame. Pour over any pan juices.
- Wipe out the skillet and repeat with the remaining cabbage half and then serve immediately.
