food to glow

An easy-to-make, Sri Lankan-inspired mild curry of thinly sliced cabbage, toasted cashews, spices and coconut milk, topped with a deliciously spicy coconut and lime sambal. A naturally vegan and whole food recipe.

Thank you for not skipping over this post. Unless you really love cabbage, the very mention of it might have most people clicking the delete button. But you are obviously not most people. Maybe you really love cabbage. Or quite possibly the lure of the word curry is stronger than your desire to avoid cabbage.

I hope to reward your curiosity. 🙂

Because, let’s be honest. Cabbage is a bit boring and stinky. Well, I think it is. Or at least I used to think it was. Over the years I’ve learned that there a few tricks to make it not only palatable, but actually delicious. And not all involve curries.

Why bother with cabbage?

Although cabbage probably won’t be at the very top of our weekly grocery list, there are a few good reasons why it should be. At least in the colder months.

1. It’s helluva healthy. Replete with dozens of health-promoting antioxidant, anti-inflammatory polyphenols, cabbage – even white cabbage – is a bit of a superstar. It really has too many goodies in it to elucidate here, but of all of the vegetables we should be eating on a regular basis, cabbage ranks very highly. It is recommended to eat the equivalent of 3/4 of a cup of cabbage a day: 5 cups a week. Read this article on  World’s Healthiest Foods for detailed nutritional information. As it has both fat- and water-soluble nutrients, vary the way you enjoy it. Raw or lightly cooked is best for water-soluble nutrients like vitamin C. While we get the most from fat-soluble nutrients of fat-soluble nutrients like vitamin K by cooking food in a bit of fat. Cabbage is packed with both K and C.

2. Cabbage is cheap and usually available in some form or other year-round. You can use any cabbage you like in this curry recipe. Or why not try kale, or even Brussels sprouts?

3. It stores very well. And because it stores well, it is a very economical veg. Remove any plastic and store in a food-safe plastic bag with a paper towel inside. If you cut your cabbage in half, rub the cut surfaces with lemon juice. It should keep well in your fridge’s crisper drawer for two weeks. If you have a cool garage like I do, keep it in a mesh or cloth bag hanging from a hook. I do this with root vegetables, hard squashes and cabbages. Separately.

4. Cabbage is hugely versatile. Cabbage has been eaten in many cultures for a few thousand years. Cuisines as varied as southeast Asian, Polish and Irish elevate the humble cabbage in some pretty gorgeous recipes. There are some interesting modern takes, too. Garlic-roasted cabbage wedges sound like a great side dish to me. I share some more DELICIOUS links below.

5. It is the main ingredient in two of the best fermented vegetable dishes, kimchi and sauerkraut. These are both super easy to make and taste even better than bought. If you do buy either, make sure they aren’t pasteurised and that they are sold and stored in the refrigerator.

15 Delicious Cabbage Recipes

Sweet Onion, Cabbage and Wild Rice Soup (above) – This humble cabbage, sweet onion and porcini mushroom soup is as simple, honest, and delicious as it gets. Served hot and slurpy with flecks of wild rice, it’s the kind of soup that comforts and fortifies body and soul. Fit this into your winter lunch or dinner repertoire for a nourishing, earthy boost.

Spicy Cabbage Wontons

Rainbow Slaw with Lemon-Garlic-Tahini Dressing

Beetroot Green and Cabbage Muthiya – little spicy Gujerati vegetable bites

Sichuan Pepper Cabbage Kimchi (above) – Make your own food fireworks with homemade kimchi. This spicy, pungent, fermented vegetable dish will make any savoury recipe sparkle with added umami and interest.

Cauliflower Chickpea Curry Wrap with Crunchy Cabbage Relish

Beet and Red Cabbage Sauerkraut

Charred Cabbage Caesar Salad with Drinkable Dressing! (below) – Charred cabbage gives new life to good old bistro staple, the Caesar salad. Unlike Caesar made with lettuce, this recipe can be prepped head and assembled when you want to eat. And the easy vegetarian dressing is damn near drinkable.  Be prepared for an intensely umami experience.

Ethiopian Cabbage

Quinoa and Lentil Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Colcannon

Vietnamese Salad with 10-Minute Sticky Tofu (above) – Crunchy cabbage and carrot salad bathed in a tangy Vietnamese–style dressing and topped with pan-fried, 10-minute marinated tofu. Quick, easy and naturally vegan.

Asian Crab Salad for One (above) – A tangy, low-carb crab and shredded cabbage salad, with toasted nori seaweed. Easily doubled. A great light lunch for one or starter for two.

Kimchi and Carrot Pancakes

Fish Tacos with Ginger-Poppy Seed Slaw

Now that I’ve got you hungry for cabbage (!) do read on for my easier-than-it sounds cabbage, cashew and coconut curry. We have it with wholegrain rice but it is equally fab with buttered wholemeal flatbreads.

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RIPE FOR PINNING!