Baked Cabbage: the Recipe for a Tasty and Stringy Side Dish

Baked cabbage is a simple but tasty au gratin side dish, ideal on the coldest winter days, when this extraordinary vegetable reaches the peak of its seasonality. Perfect for any lunch or dinner with family and friends, it can be made in just a few minutes and, with its crunchy crust, it will win over even the little ones at home and those who don't like this vegetable.

To prepare it, just take the softest leaves of the cabbage, slice them coarsely and sauté them in a pan with a base of garlic and oil; once wilted, they are flavored with a pinch of salt and transferred to a bowl, where they are mixed with the grated parmesan; then distribute everything in a baking dish, creating a single uniform layer, and sprinkle with more parmesan, breadcrumbs and a generous handful of diced fontina cheese.

The brief passage in the oven will do the rest: you will thus obtain a tasty and stringy dish, suitable to accompany any meat dish or to be enjoyed, in larger portions, as a vegetarian second course. Simple and convenient, it can also be assembled in advance and baked just before your guests arrive: for an even tastier surface, you can turn the grill on for the last 5 minutes of cooking. It can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly closed in an airtight container, for a maximum of 2 days.

If you like, you can customize the recipe by replacing the fontina cheese with Asiago cheese or any stretched curd cheese, such as sweet or smocked scamorza. Alternatively, you can enrich it with diced ham or striped speck; furthermore, if you wish, you can add some anchovy fillets to the sauté, which will help to make everything tastier and more irresistible.

Find out how to prepare baked cabbage by following the step-by-step procedure and advice.

How to Prepare Baked Cabbage

Remove the outermost layers of the cabbage, which you can use to enrich minestrone and soups, then delicately detach the internal leaves from the base and place them on a cutting board; using a sharp knife, remove the hardest central part.

Divide the remaining cabbage into rather coarse pieces, then wash it under running water to remove soil or moisture residues.

Pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a clove of peeled garlic into a large pan, leave to flavor for a few moments and add the cabbage. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring often.

When the cabbage is wilted, season with a pinch of salt.

Transfer the cabbage into a container, let it cool for a few minutes and flavor it with half of the grated parmesan.

Mix well all of the ingredients with a ladle.

Grease a baking dish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, then pour in the cabbage.

Spread it into an even layer.

Drizzle the vegetables with a generous drizzle of oil.

Sprinkle with the grated parmesan.

Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs.

Drizzle the surface of the flan with another drizzle of oil.

Top with the diced cheese, then bake in a fan oven at 200°C for 25 minutes.

When the surface appears golden and crunchy, take the cabbage out of the oven.

Leave to cool for a few minutes and serve.