Hispi cabbage with miso, honey, tamari and sesame

Hispi cabbage with miso, honey, tamari and sesame

Spring

Sweet, pointy cabbages like the hispi are incredibly tasty when you cook them on the barbecue or over an open fire. I like to wrap them up and steam them until they’re tender, then set them down over the searing embers and caramelize their outer leaves. In this instance, I’ve spiked the hispi’s heart with lots of miso, garlic, chilli and sesame – flavours that work so well with cabbage however you cook it. I know what you’re thinking, though: ‘Why on earth is it encased in clay?’ The answer is simple – it’s fun. Think of it as primitive kitchen foil, that’s all.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 large hispi cabbage

For the dressing:

  • 1 tablespoon sweet white miso
  • 2 small garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon tamari sauce
  • 1 teaspoon runny honey
  • 1 medium-hot red chilli, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons water

Method

You’ll need a bed of hot, chunky embers.

Trim the base from the cabbage and pull away the larger outer leaves, but hang on to them. Cut the cabbage in half from top to bottom and set the pieces down, cut-side up.

Combine the dressing ingredients together in a bowl or jar and stir or shake to combine.

Carefully spoon the dressing over the top of each cabbage half, allowing it to trickle down into the folds of the leaves. Give the dressing a minute or two to find its way into the cabbage, then bring the two halves together.

Take a couple of the reserved larger, outer leaves and wrap them back around the cabbage. Tie them in place with kitchen string. Now wrap the cabbage in a double layer of foil or, if you feel like having a bit of fun, wrap the cabbage in clay. Nestle the wrapped cabbage into your hot embers and use some tongs to arrange some of the chunky ember pieces around the cabbage, too. The cooking time can vary: if you’ve wrapped the cabbage in foil, it should be done after about 35–40 minutes. If you’ve had a go at wrapping it clay, then it’ll take at least an hour. Turn the cabbage periodically during the cooking time so that it cooks evenly.

Carefully lift the cabbage out of the fire and let it cool for a few minutes while you stoke the embers so the fire’s nice and hot. Unwrap the cabbage, cut the strings and remove the outer leaves. Ease the two halves apart.

Set a grill down over the fire and place the cabbage halves, cut-side down, on top. Cook for 4–5 minutes on each side, or until the edges begin to crisp and char. Serve at once.

Back to Membership