This weeks Seed to Plate recipe makes use of one of our favourite and most versatile vegetables from the farm - hispi (or sweetheart) cabbage. Its a real springtime treat and when you’re digging into a mouthful you’re bound to think of blooming yellow daffodils, newly born lambs and the sweet smell of the first blossoms of the year. Its a perfect starter, a great side or can even be enjoyed just as it is. The great thing about this recipe is that it can be so easily adapted. There are no strict rules about what makes the dukkah spice mix and the garden herb salsa would work with just about any fresh herb so feel free to experiment until your hearts content. Dukkah is an Egyptian mix of nuts and spices and is usually served with with bread and olive oil. We usually make a big batch and store it in a kilner jar which means its close to hand to sprinkle on just about anything. It works really well as a salad topper or anywhere you want to add a little texture and spice.
We stir some slow roasted garlic through the yoghurt to give a delicious sweet allium flavour which works really well to add depth of flavour. Simply wrap a few garlic cloves in tin foil with a sprinkle of salt and some rapeseed (or other) oil and pop into a medium low oven for about an hour. The smell of the slowly cooking garlic is bound to get your mouth watering. Once its done simply remove the cloves and when cool enough, push them through a sieve (a drum sieve is easiest) which gets rid of the paper husk and leaves you with a delicious puree.
As always we’d love to hear if you try this recipe, or any of the elements.
Ingredients
Dukkah
50g hazelnuts
50g almond flakes
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black onion seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Garden herb salsa
30g fresh garden herbs ( we used a mix of french tarragaon, flat leaf parsley and chives)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Yoghurt
225g greek yoghurt
6 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
Salt and black pepper
Cabbage
1 hispi cabbage cut into quarters or eighths lengthways so they form wedges
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 knob butter
Salt and black pepper
Method
Dukkah
Spread the nuts in a single layer onto a baking tray and place in an oven preheated to 180C for about 8 minutes, checking every few minutes, until nicely toasted - remove and allow to cool
Meanwhile, add the whole spices to a dry pan and place on the hob over a medium heat, keep the seeds moving as they toast - they will smell really aromatic when they are done (probably 2-3 minutes)
In a food processor, pulse together the ingredients making sure to leave some texture in the nuts, you want quite a chunky mix not a fine powder.
Use immediately or store up to 1 month in an airtight jar.
Garden Herb Salsa
Roughly chop the herbs and add to a pestle and mortar, grind the herbs with a pinch of salt until you have a paste.
Add the apple cider vinegar and continue to grind, mixing the vinegar into the herbs. Slowly add the olive oil, mixing all the time.
If you dont have a pestle and mortar its just as easy to chop the herbs very finely with a knife and then whisk together with the acid and oil.
Alternatively you could just pop everything in a food processor and whizz!
Roasted Garlic Yoghurt
Separate 6 garlic cloves and place them on some tin foil ( there’s no need to peel the garlic) drizzle with rapeseed (or any other) oil and sprinkle with salt. Fold the tin foil over the garlic, creating a parcel. You might want to double wrap with tin foil. Place in an oven preheated to 150C for about 1 hour.
Once cooked, remove from parcel and allow to cool.
Using the back of a spoon push the garlic cloves through a fine mesh sieve - this will remove the husk and give you a fine puree. Simply scrape the puree from the sieve and stir through the yoghurt. Use a wooden spoon or spatula rather than a whisk as this might make it very runny. Season with salt and black pepper.
Roasted Hispi
Preheat oven to 180C
Heat 1 tbsp rapeseed oil in an oven proof frying pan or roasting tray over a medium high heat.
Slice the cabbage into wedges length ways - either quarters or eighths and season with salt.
Once the oil is hot, place the cabbage cut side down into the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the cabbage has turned golden brown.
Flip the wedges onto the other cut side and add a knob of butter to the pan.
Place the pan in the oven and roast for 12 minutes until cabbage is softened.
To serve
Spoon some of the roasted garlic yoghurt onto a plate and drizzle with some of the garden herb salsa. Place the roasted hispi on top of the yoghurt and sprinkle with the dukkah mix. You can drizzle some more salsa on if you like too!