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Here to make you cabbage converts, savoy cabbage gratin is roasted cabbage steaks smothered in a thick, creamy and luxurious leek and cheese sauce. Make these sweet, soft and tender wedges this Sunday to accompany your roast!
Here for the gratin but not so much the cabbage? Safe and sweet butternut squash dauphinoise will satisfy that cozy craving in the same cheesy-bake way.
I am a self-confessed cabbage lover, maybe it’s my Russian roots, but it’s so disappointingly underused in domestic kitchens in the UK and North America. I get it, it has a bad reputation for being:
- cheap, but surely that’s a bonus?!
- smelly, which is actually due to a high fibre content, so also a win.
- overcooked and mushy- easily avoided with the right recipe.
So, here are a few to tempt you:
miso butter roasted cabbage wedges – my favourite cooked cabbage recipe ever, no wait, my favourite vegetable side dish ever.
braised red cabbage– slow-cooked until soft and intoxicatingly aromatic (in a good way!).
braised cabbage with beets and bacon – a colourful side dish that makes use of budget-friendly white cabbage.
savoy cabbage recipes just remind me of my childhood, and stuffed cabbage rolls (golubtsi) are quintessentially Eastern European.
sauerkraut; raw, fermented, tangy white cabbage that’s incredibly good for your gut and goes with anything.
Which cabbage recipe will convert you?
Oven roasted cabbage steaks
Savoy cabbage is the darker green, round, crinkly-leaved one. And it’s these pretty, frilly leaves that make it a great gratin option. The gentle wrinkles and scooped leaves capture the creamy sauce so every mouthful is a cheesy delight. Make sure you choose one with tight leaves so they don’t catch during the initial roast.
This dish requires a few steps, but the payoff is a meltingly soft, luxuriously creamy and deliciously moreish dish. So, worth it! Basically, there are three distinct stages:
- roasting the wedges to soften the leaves, concentrate the natural sugar and lightly char the outer leaves- keep an eye on that!
- making the Béchamel (if you make your own mac and cheese you can make this!)
- baking the pre-roasted cabbage steaks under the Béchamel blanket until irresistibly bubbly
This cooked cabbage dish, a cousin of cauliflower cheese and ever-popular dauphinoise potatoes, will have everyone clamouring for more.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Pre-cook the cabbage before baking it in the cheese sauce.
- Roast rather than boil. Roasting promotes caramelisation and adds a tempting char.
- Add a step and blend the cheese and leek sauce before covering the cabbage if you like it smooth.
- Or keep it simple like I did.
- Use Gruyere instead of cheddar for a sophisticated and nutty note.
What goes with it
There’s a time and place for gratinated vegetables and that is side-kicking a Sunday roast. This savoy cabbage gratin compliments glazed ham, spring lamb, pot roast beef or spatchcock chicken. You can’t go wrong. And this 8-person recipe is ideal for those big family get-togethers.
In my house, we have a few must-haves when it comes to roast dinners: roast potatoes, homemade gravy, roasted carrots, and a vegetable cheesy bake of some description, and I think this cabbage gratin might have kicked cauliflower cheese off its spot.
Storage and leftovers
Multi-step recipes can be intimidating, so if you’ve time, divide the labour over two days. You can get ahead on your roast dinner by prepping these roasted cabbage steaks and their sauce a day before. Keep it in the fridge until needed and then roast in the hot oven once you’ve taken the meat out to rest. Sound simpler?
Leftover cabbage gratin will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat covered in the oven for 10 minutes.
More cheesy side dish recipes
- Cauliflower Gratin
- Rosemary Potatoes au Gratin
- Tartiflette (French Potatoes in Oozy Cheese)
- Cheesy Potato Soufflé
Cheesy Roasted Savoy Cabbage Wedges
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Lodge cast iron skillet
- This is an affiliate link.Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 savoy cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tbsp dry white wine, or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp flour
- 500ml / 2 cups double/heavy cream, plus 4 tbsp
- 120g / 4 oz mature (aged) cheddar, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C for fan ovens)/350F. Cut the cabbage into 8 wedges right through the core, then remove most of the core but keep the leaves attached. Arrange the wedges on a baking pan, then brush with the olive oil on both sides and season with salt, roast in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cabbage is softened and the outer leaves are getting slightly charred. Keep an eye on it to avoid burning.
- Meanwhile melt 1 tbsp of butter in a pan and add the sliced leeks, sauté over low heat for 15 minutes until soft, then add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, now deglaze with the white wine and let the liquid reduce to almost nothing.
- Add 2 tbsp of butter and melt, then mix in the flour until the mixture makes a loose paste, continue cooking while stirring for a minute, then slowing start mixing in the milk stirring the whole time to avoid lumps, bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes until it thickens, then fold in half of the grated cheese and allow it to melt into the sauce, taste and add salt. Remove 250ml/1 cup of the cheese sauce from the pan and reserve for later.
- Take the cabbage out of the oven and arrange on top of the sauce, then pour the reserved sauce over the cabbage wedges and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese, cover with tin foil and put back in the oven for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted, then uncover and cook for 10 minutes longer or until the cheese is starting to colour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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