Roasted Cabbage “Steaks” & Bacon Wrapped Red Pepper

 with Rosemary Mustard Roasted Reds

 

How gorgeous are these farm fresh goodies?!?! I mean, WOW.  Simply stunning. There’s nothing I love more than roaming through my Local Farmers Market and pick up some gorgeous produce (and, who are we kidding…possibly some cheese, maybe some honey….and, really, who can escape without a loaf of crusty fresh baked bread….).  I can’t wait to create a meal out of this! Here’s what I came up with.  And, it was absolutely, mouthwateringly delicious.  I turned a simple cabbage into a hearty “steak” of a meal.  You won’t even believe how filling it is.  It was so darn good, I just had to share it with y’all!

Honestly, this is so easy to make, it’s going to blow your mind you’ve never cooked cabbage this way before.  I’m not a superhuge fan of cooked cabbage.  Especially if it gets all smushy and mushy and slimy.  No thank you, I’ll pass.  Now, when you ROAST it something divine happens…it caramelizes and crisps and is so wonderfully delicious that you forget you’re eating cabbage.

I bought some red potatoes and was feeling kinda lazy, so I decided to do a one pan roast.  Who’s not for easy clean up, am I right!?!?!  I cut a few long stems of Rosemary from my garden and placed the red potatoes and a few whole garlic cloves on top.  Drizzled with EVOO and seasoned with Salt and Pepper.

Next, slice the Cabbage and Onion into large round discs.  Layer the Onion slice on top of the Cabbage slice.  Season with EVOO, salt & pepper.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take step-by-step pics of the bacon wrapped peppers.  No worries, its super simple.  Just slice the Red Pepper into chunky pieces.  Take a slice of jalapeño and place it inside the red pepper.  Then, take a slice of nice applewood bacon and wrap it around the 2 peppers.  I used a few different methods for wrapping…the basket-weave, the spiral, the wrap and tuck.  They all turned out perfect.  So, do whatever works for that particular hunk of pepper!  I also added a small slice of jalapeño on top so that my diners would know a jalapeño was inside. TIP: I would NOT recommend leaving it on top (like I did!!!!) while you roast it.  Leave it off and add the fresh green jalapeño on top before serving.  That way my guests know their dish may have a kick, but the small jalapeño piece on top won’t burn in the oven and looks wayyyy prettier!

 

And, if you notice the potatoes in the background, I had a little bacon and red pepper leftover.  No to waste, I tucked it in between the rosemary potatoes and let the bacon drippings kick up the flavor!  This turned out to be an excellent idea.  TIP: Keep the bacon strips on the larger side if you use any in the potatoes so it will all cook evenly!

Not too shabby for a one pan dinner!

Pop into a preheated oven!

Roast 400 for 35-45 mins until desired doneness.

Spoon the Roasted Reds into a bowl.  Add any crispy, non-burnt pieces of Rosemary and squeeze the roasted Garlic out too!  Don’t leave that little piece of deliciousness behind!!!

To finish the potatoes, add a dollop of Whole Grain Mustard.  Season with Salt and Pepper and add a dash of EVOO if needed.

“Desired Doneness” is personal preference.  Our household (read: my hubby) likes bacon extra crispy (read: burnt!!!).  We also like the cabbage more done and crispy on the sides and top.  Feel free to take it out sooner or later depending on how you like it!

I served this to my husband and his best buddy Travis.  They are meat eaters…..def not vegetarians.  They both DEVOURED this!  I couldn’t believe how much they raved over it.  I was not expecting such delicious results!

Looking good, but see….this is where the fresh jalapeño or herb would look loverly on top instead of my seriously roasted chipotle pepper (read: burnt jalapeño).

Last, lightly drizzle a nice Aged Balsamic over the Steaks or use a Balsamic Glaze.  This puts it right over the top!

I also served a fresh, light side of Tomatoes & Thai Cucumbers.  Amazing.

Plate and DEVOUR!!!

 

 

Roasted Cabbage “Steaks”

1 Organic Cabbage, outer leaves pulled off, then sliced into rounds

1 Large Onion, sliced into rounds (I used Vidalia)

1 Red Pepper, sliced into chunks

Applewood Smoked Bacon, sliced in half if necessary (just need enough to wrap pepper)

1 Jalapeño, sliced into rounds (deseeded if you want less heat)

Good Quality EVOO

Good Quality Aged Balsamic

Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

*Preheat Oven 400. Lightly Spray Baking Sheet with Non-Stick Olive Oil Cooking Spray.  Lay Cabbage Rounds down first, then place the Onion Rounds on top.  Drizzle with EVOO, Salt & Pepper.  Slice Red Pepper into long chunks, place a jalapeño slice inside (if using) and wrap with bacon.  Place the “tucked sides” underneath the bottom of the pepper and put the bacon wrapped pepper “tucked side down” on top of the onion.  Roast 35-45 mins until bacon is done and cabbage edges are brown and crispy!  Remove and carefully transfer to plate.  Drizzle with a nice Aged Balsamic before serving.

 

TIP: You can make this dish completely vegetarian by omitting the bacon wrapped pepper.  Cabbage Steaks are still delicious!  Add the Onion or leave it plain…..just add some garlic to up the flavor some!  I’ll post a recipe soon for Garlic Roasted Cabbage Steaks!

I also made this for the first time (as pictured) using parchment paper because I was afraid of the cabbage sticking to the baking sheet.  I found that when I used the parchment paper, the bottom of the cabbage steak didn’t brown and crisp as much.  So, in the directions I changed that part.  Feel free to experiment!

 

Rosemary Mustard Roasted Red Potatoes

Red Potatoes

Fresh Rosemary Sprigs

Applewood Bacon Slices

Red Pepper Slices

Whole Garlic Cloves

EVOO

Sea Salt

Fresh Cracked Pepper

1-2  T Whole Grain Mustard

*Preheat Oven 400.  Spray Baking Sheet with Non-Stick Olive Oil Cooking Spray.  Lay Potatoes, Garlic, and Bacon & Red Pepper Slices ON TOP of Rosemary Sprigs.  Drizzle with EVOO, Sea Salt & Pepper.  Roast 35-45 mins until done.  Transfer to bowl and add 1-2  T Whole Grain Mustard. (you just need enough to lightly coat the potatoes.  Add 1 tsp EVOO if needed.) Season with Salt and Pepper.  Enjoy!  TIP: Be sure to add any delightful crispy bits of Rosemary that made it through the roasting without getting burnt!

 

I hope y’all try this.  You won’t be disappointed!

eat.drink.be

Kari

www.eatdrinkbe.com

@eatdrinkbeKari

Facebook: Hotcookin’