Roasted cabbage & bacon with honey-mustard
Do you love or hate cabbage?
This often-forgotten veggie is one of those that many of us may remember from our childhood as a boring side on our plates. If cabbage is however cooked in the right way, it’s a fantastic ingredient to use.
A fabulous low-carb veggie
Cabbage should never be overcooked – that’s a sure way to have an unappetising, grey blob on your plate, without any taste or texture. Seasoning options are endless, so one can really get creative to make the most of this low-carb vegetable and take it to another level. The simple flavour of cabbage makes it quite versatile and can be used raw in a slaw and other salads and sides. Or add it to stews, one-pot meals, soups, and stir-fries. The deliciously sweet flavour of lightly cooked cabbage complements meats, like pork or chicken really well. Ingredients like nutmeg, cumin, caraway, fennel, mustard, apple and yes, bacon are well-known combinations with cabbage. Other flavours that are always good with this veggie include lemon juice, chilli, Chinese five spice, parsley, and thyme. Flash fry cabbage in a hot pan with some olive oil, to retain the crunchiness and season with any of these options. Or roast it until lightly grilled, like in this super easy recipe.
Roast it for an even better flavour
Bacon and cabbage are both extra flavourful when roasted and go so well with the sweet-sour taste of the honey and mustard. Don’t be tempted to roast the cabbage for too long as it should still have a bit of ‘bite’ to it and definitely not be soft. The combination of red and white cabbage makes this dish bright and colourful, but feel free to only use white cabbage. You could even use a big head of cabbage and just slice it into smaller wedges if you can’t find the small cabbages.
Serve this as a side dish at your next braai, with grilled chicken, or even pork. So simple, so quick and so delicious!
Roasted cabbage & bacon with honey-mustard
Recipe from Heleen Meyer
Serves 6 – 8
30 ml (2 tbsp) wholegrain mustard
30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
30 ml (2 tbsp) honey
30 ml (2 tbsp) apple or white grape vinegar
1 each small red and white cabbage, cut into thick wedges
250 g bacon, excess fat removed and cut into thick strips
salt and black pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 220 °C.
- Mix the mustard, oil, honey and vinegar together in a large mixing bowl.
- Place the cabbage and bacon in the mixture and toss until well-coated. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place cabbage mixture in a single layer in a shallow oven dish or lined baking tray. Roast for 20 minutes or until the cabbage is just cooked and the bacon starts to turn crispy. Take care not to overcook the cabbage. (See the tip on how to make this in an air-fryer.)
- Serve immediately as a side dish. It will be delicious with chicken, steak or pork.
Tips:
- In your air-fryer: Depending on the size of your air-fryer, you may need to roast the mixture in smaller batches. Roast at 200-220 °C for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked, but not too soft. The last batch may roast faster, as the air-fryer element is already hot.
- Replace mustard with cumin or caraway seeds for an interesting twist.
- Serve with spoonfuls of double cream yoghurt, if preferred.
Visit Heleen’s website (www.heleenmeyer.co.za) for more recipes like this.
Image by Adel Ferreira