Calgary chef shares cabbage side dish idea for Easter dinner

If you still need a side dish for Easter dinner, River Café’s chef Matthias Fong suggests adding cabbage to the menu.

“I haven’t cooked cabbage any way better than this,” Fong said of his Whole Roasted Paradox Cabbage recipe on Global News Morning Sunday.

“This is my favourite cabbage for sure.”

Fong said the dish can be served on its own or as a side to a main course that features pork. If you want to try it out, the details are below.

Whole Roasted Paradox Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1 head of cabbage
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 clove black garlic sliced
• ½ tsp flax seeds toasted
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• Vancouver Island salt

Optional add-ons:

• Seaweed powder and/or sour cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (or barbeque for an even better result)
2. Cover the cabbage with canola oil and season generously with salt
3. Bake for 3-4 hours or until completely tender when poked with a bamboo skewer; don’t be alarmed if the exterior of the cabbage is deeply charred
4. Allow the cabbage to cool 10-15 minutes at room temperature
5. Peel off the charred outer layers of cabbage
6. Cut into wedges, leaving the root end intact
7. Heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat (or return to the barbeque)
8. Sear the cabbage for 1-2 minutes, until lightly charred, then add butter and cook an additional minute (if searing on the barbeque: grill first then remove from heat before adding the butter to coat)
9. Remove from heat and season the cabbage
10. Serve with a sprinkle of toasted flax seeds and slices of black garlic