I had a cabbage left from among the many bounties of this week's CSA box, cream-on the-top yogurt from my community farmers' market, and a variety of nuts and seeds from cleaning out the kitchen cupboards. This made me think of a dish I ate this summer on the Cape - an appetizer of charred cabbage nestled in a pool of labneh swirled with tangerine curd and topped with tahini, seeds, nuts and furikake. This is my version - less gastronomic, but still quite delicious.
1/2 small cabbage, I recommend Hispi or Napa (I used Napa)
1/4 cup labneh, Greek yogurt, or cream-on-the-top plain yogurt
2 Tbsps Tahini
1 tsp white miso
2 tsps preserved lemon paste (or lemon juice to taste with a dash of cumin will work in a pinch)
Zest from one orange
1/3 cup assorted nuts, seeds, dried fruit, furikake, etc. (I used a mixture of chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds, halved dried cranberries, sesame seeds, and shredded dried nori seaweed)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375.
Place the half cabbage on a parchment paper lined baking tray, cut side up. Drizzle with half of the oil. Place in the oven and bake until the cabbage is tender and the outer leaves are starting to caramelize, about 12 to 15 minutes.
While the cabbage is roasting, make the sauce by combining the tahini, miso, preserved lemon paste, remaining olive oil and one tablespoon of boiling water together in a bowl and whisking until smooth. Set aside.
Mix all the seeds, nuts, etc. together in a small bowl. Set aside.
When the cabbage is ready to come out of the oven, scoop the cold yogurt into a deep dish. Top with hot cabbage. Drizzle over the sauce, letting it bowl in between the cabbage leaves and down into the yogurt on the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle over all of the seed and nut mixture and then quickly grate orange peel over the top of the whole dish.
Enjoy the combination of temperatures, textures, and flavors.