Charred cabbage skewers

This recipe uses Tabil, a North African spice blend that originates from Tunisia. It is often used to season meat, fish or vegetable dishes and typically consists of a mixture of coriander, cumin, garlic and cayenne pepper. If you can't find it, there is a method for a homemade version in the notes.

Charred cabbage skewers Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  2

• prep

  35 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 1 sugarloaf cabbage
• 4 wooden skewers, soaked for at least 30 minutes prior
• 50 ml garlic oil (see Note)
• 2 tbsp Tabil spice mix (recipe below; see Note)
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard, to serve

Pomegranate and lime sauce

• 160 ml water
• 100 g tamari (see Note)
• 1 tsp hot English mustard 
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 
• 50 ml pomegranate molasses
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp chickpea miso (or white miso)
• 80 ml pickle brine
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• ¼ cup raw sugar, or honey
• 80 ml extra virgin olive oil

Tabil spice blend

• 2 tbsp coriander seed
• 2 tsp caraway powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp fennel seed
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp smoked chilli
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

1. To make the pomegranate and lime sauce, combine the water, tamari, mustards, pomegranate molasses, garlic and miso in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil, while whisking, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and stir through the remaining ingredients. Store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.
2. To make the garlic oil, cut the bulbs of garlic in half and transfer to a small saucepan. Cover with vegetable oil. Heat the oil until it starts to bubble, then remove from heat and steep the garlic in the oil for 30-40 minutes until the garlic is soft. Strain the oil and reserve the garlic for another use. The oil can be stored in the fridge for up to 1-2 months.
3. To make the Tabil spice blend, toast your spices in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until they start to pop and jump around, let it cool down and then in an upright blender or spice blender add the salt and grind the mix into a powder.
4. To prepare the cabbage, peel back any excess leaves, then cut in half (quarters if large). Remove the cabbage core, then cut the leaves into 5 cm squares (you should have approximately 6 pieces of cabbage).
5. Insert the skewers into the centre of each of cabbage squares until the skewer is full of sliced cabbage squares.
6. Preheat barbecue or chargrill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the cabbage skewers for 3-4 minutes each side, or until charred. Remove from the heat and transfer to a tray. Drizzle the skewers with garlic oil, salt and tabil spice mix. If the cabbage needs additional cooking, roast in the oven, checking regularly.
7. Divide the cabbage skewers between plates and spoon over the pomegranate and lime dressing. Use a fine tea strainer to liberally dust with extra tabil spice blend and drizzle with extra olive oil. Serve with extra Dijon mustard.
8. Place cabbage skewers on a plate. Spoon over the skewers the pomegranate molasses sauce. Using a tea strainer, liberally dust the the tabil spice over the cabbage skewers. Drizzle with a little olive oil over the top. Serve with a side of Dijon mustard.

Note

• If you can't find garlic oil at the grocery store, you can prepare it at home. Cut 2 bulbs of garlic in half and transfer to a small saucepan. Cover with vegetable oil. Heat the oil until it starts to bubble, then remove from heat and steep the garlic in the oil for 30-40 minutes until the garlic is soft. Strain the oil and reserve the garlic for another use.  The oil can be stored in the fridge for up to 1-2 months.

• The tabil spice blend can be substituted by Greg Malouf's Golden Ras El Hanout, available at Essential Ingredient.

• This recipe used Newman's Dijon mustard and hot English mustard and Spiral Foods' organic tamari. Organic tamari is much stronger in flavour therefore you will only need to use half the amount in the recipe.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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