It’s been a while since I posted anything. As some of you know – from my Instagram stories – we moved, again. This time not too far though. To a close-by neighborhood that has a better public high school. I hope we made the right decision, if there is such a thing as right or wrong decision.
The house was on wheels and the fridge pretty empty, it would have been easier to go out to eat. But it’s easier for me to whip up something from nothing than to decide with my family where to eat. And whatever I will make will be more nourishing than what we can get.
Fortunately, I thrive in scarcity. The less I have on hand, the less overwhelmed I get when I cook. I also love to pretend that I am on MasterChef. I have 1 hour and only 1 vegetable to come up with a delicious and satisfying dish.
My first thought was to roast the cabbage until I caramelized the shit out of it and serve it with flatbread and tahini. But then I thought, why not kill two birds with one pan? Why not bake the bread over the cabbage like a tarte tatin?
Speaking of decisions, cooking is a good way to practice decision making. When you have half an hour to come up with a meal for a starving family, you don’t analyze and make pro and con lists. You limit your options and decide quickly. If there’s a better way, you pivot. Will it always come out extremely delicious? No, but you can add some salt or lemon juice and never make it again.
But if you got three 10s for it, you know you’ve made a good decision. So you make it again and again with a green salad or everyday salad.
Favorite cookbook of this week is Molly on the Range by Molly Yeh.
Easy Upside-Down Cabbage Bread
Ingredients
- ½ pound bread/focaccia/pizza dough - homemade or store bought.
- ½ medium green or red cabbage
- 2-3 garlic cloves - chopped roughly
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1 – 2 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Put the dough in a large bowl and rub it with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a clean, moistened kitchen towel and put it in a warm place to rise.
- Meanwhile, remove the core of the cabbage and slice it into 1” (2cm) thick. Put a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil and the garlic , and stir. Cover the bottom of the skillet with the cabbage, try to fit it in one layer. If it doesn't fit create another layer. Season and sear the cabbage for 5 minutes. Use tongs to flip it and sear the other side. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring into a boil.
- Preheat the oven to 380°F. Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook the cabbage until the dough doubles its size, about 60 – 90 minutes.
- Knock the air out of the dough and shape it into a ball. Roll the dough on a floured surface or stretch it with your hands into a disk the size of the skillet. Remove the skillet from the oven and carefully place the dough over the cabbage. Again, carefully, tuck the edges of the dough into the skillet with a wooden spoon.
- Bake until the crust is brownish, about 20 mins. Knock on the bread, if it makes a hollow sound, it's ready.
- Let it cool for 5-10 minutes then gently flip – put a bigger plate over the skillet, hold both plate and skillet tightly together, count to 3 and flip. Eat with a green salad or everyday salad.
