Recipes Up now on the website, you’ll find a couple new recipes—our favorite Thai condiment Nam Prik Pao, as well as the Vadouvan-Roasted Cauliflower from Supper Club Vol. 03 (which would make an exciting addition to any traditional Thanksgiving spread). And speaking of dishes to shake up this year’s Thanksgiving menu, here’s a recipe for our Charred Cabbage with Artichoke Tahini and Tamarind, as well as a show-stopping Apple Cider Vinegar Tart. Cabbage, the Most Culturally Disputed Vegetable of Southern Europe Other than coffee, meringues, and soccer, I can’t think of anything more culturally contentious between the French and Italians than their views on cabbage.
For the French, cabbage represents something cute, lovable, endearing. Mon petit chou—“my little cabbage”—is perhaps the most common French term of endearment. The Italians, on the other hand, have quite a different take on the hearty brassica.
Cavolo—“cabbage” in Italian—is also a PG-13 expletive that represents an imbroglio of frustration and annoyance. “Che cavolo!” you might hear someone exclaim at the inconvenient realization of finding their car with a flat tire. But it doesn’t stop there. “Fare una cavolata” means to make a bunch of cabbage, or more succinctly, to do something incredibly stupid. Well, we’re about to fare una cavolata—literally—and it couldn’t be any further than the phrase’s idiomatic meaning. We’re siding with the French on this one. With its fibrous, waxy leaves and noxious sulfur-containing compounds that, when handled improperly, are reminiscent of passing by a paper mill on a family road trip, cabbage often gets a bad rap when it comes to vegetable pageantry. But cooked properly, cabbage has a delightful natural sweetness, tender bite, and takes well to other sharp and pungent flavors. This dish is remarkably simple (four components), and will turn a seemingly unassuming side dish into a show stealer, I promise. Move over, butternut squash! CHARRED CABBAGE WITH ARTICHOKE TAHINI AND TAMARIND (Serves 8) 2 heads purple cabbage 1 cup artichoke tahini 1/2 cup tamarind sauce 2 TBL za’atar (or spice condiment of choice) ARTICHOKE-SESAME TAHINI 7oz jar of artichokes, rinsed 150g sesame seed (1/2 cup) 1/2 cup non-dairy milk 1/2 cup olive oil 50(ish)g lemon juice (1 plump lemon) 2 tsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp salt (or to taste) Dry toast white sesame seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Rinse jarred artichokes to remove any excess pre-packaged marinade and blot dry with a paper towel. In a food processor or VitaPrep, combine artichokes, sesame seeds, non-dairy milk (we use an unscented coconut milk, but use whatever you’ve got), lemon juice, vinegar, and salt, and blend until smooth. In a steady stream, slowly incorporate olive oil and tahini is thick but silky smooth. Keep refrigerated up to a week. TAMARIND SAUCE 8oz tamarind concentrate (1 cup; 240g) 2 cups h2o 3/4 cup sugar (150g) 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp salt (2g) Yield: about 1 cup This is a super versatile sweet-n-sour (agrodolce) condiment that lasts for weeks in the fridge. You can find tamarind concentrate at any Asian grocery store or Whole Foods. We always keep a jar of this on hand. It’s a wonderful ingredient to add a sweet brightness and acidity to a dish or to use as a base for a sharp and flavorful salad dressing. Think of it like a spiced balsamic reduction. Preheat oven to 400. In a small sauce pot, combine all ingredients for the tamarind sauce and bring to a near boil. Cut heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until reduced by half. Sauce should be like a thin syrup. Quarter the cabbages, leaving the core intact, and evenly place on a sheet tray. Rub generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast for 40 minutes. You want the cabbage to be cooked through but to retain some crunch in the innermost layers (this is a fork and knife dish), and the outer leaves to be crispy and charred. If you have a top broiler, broil on high for 5-8 min to finish the cooking. This dish can be served warm or room temp. For plating, spread a healthy schmear of the tahini (about 2 Tablespoons) across the base of the plate, placing the cabbage in the center, and drizzle with the tamarind sauce. Top with za’atar, dukkah, or other textured crumble of choice. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR TART This one’s a take on a simple classic. With a few fun additions, this vinegar pie straddles the end of the summer harvest while embracing the new chilly weather. We are marrying the botanical and floral qualities of lavender and lemon with a no-fuss crust and the sweet, zippy tang of apple cider vinegar. LAVENDER-BLUE CORNMEAL CRUST 1 ½ cups flour ½ cup sugar ¾ cup blue cornmeal 2 tsp dried lavender zest of one lemon 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 3 egg yolks 1 stick (8 TBL) extra cold butter cut into cubes 2-4 TBL cold water This crust is a no-brainer-back-pocket-keeper. From spring through fall these flavors are a great platform for any filling. We use a food processor for ease, but this could easily be done in a cold metal mixing bowl with fork or fingers. Just make sure to keep that butter cold! Preheat Oven to 350. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, blue cornmeal, and lavender in a food processor. Give it a few pulses to combine. Add egg yolks, butter, and 2 tablespoons of cold water and pulse until a dough ball just begins to form, about 30 seconds. Add a few more tablespoons of water if the ball has trouble forming or if the dough seems too shaggy. Dump onto a floured surface, handling as little as possible, and form a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or freeze up to a month for future use. Remove dough from fridge and unwrap onto a lightly floured surface. This crust will be good for two 8” spring molds or eight 4” individual spring molds. Roll each piece of cut dough into a 6-7” round, about a 1/3” thick, and place inside the ungreased spring mold, pressing into and up the sides of the pan to form a crown. Poke assertively each unbaked crust with a fork. No need for pie weights with the small spring rounds as they don’t rise too much from the blind bake. For the larger 8” molds, however, add some parchment paper and dried beans to prevent this from forming a bubble in the center of the crust. Blind bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Take crusts out and let cool before adding custard filling. APPLE CIDER CUSTARD FILLING 8 eggs 1 stick (8 TBL) melted room temp butter 2 ½ cups apple cider 3/4 cup brown sugar zest of one lemon 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 TBL vanilla 1 pinch cinnamon 1 pinch ground ginger 1 pinch fresh grated nutmeg ½ teaspoon salt In a small saucepan bring apple cider and vanilla to a simmer and reduce by half. Let cool. Preheat oven to 425. In a dry mixing bowl combine brown sugar, zest, cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg, and combine with fingers, smooshing the granules with the zest until the oils are fragrant. In another mixing bowl whisk eggs, reduced apple cider, vinegar, and melted butter until smooth. Make sure the butter and reduction are at room temperature before combining with eggs so as to not inadvertently cook them. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet until thoroughly incorporated. Fill each crust with unbaked custard, leaving a small amount of crust showing up the sides. Place molds on a larger parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is slightly browned but the middle still has a jiggle.
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