Red cabbage may not be your favourite vegetable. It wasn’t mine. I have always loved the colour of it though. You’ve got to love food that is such a beautiful shade of magenta. When I run past these purple and green striped fields of cabbages I can’t help but smile.
Another thing that makes me happy is the price. They are so cheap at the moment at the farmer’s market and if you have ever bought a cabbage you will know how far it goes. I mean these things go on for ever.
I use about a quarter of a white cabbage in this fridge emptying favourite Minestrone Soup that I now serve topped with a swirl of homemade basil pesto, it makes such a difference to the flavour.
You can’t really use red cabbage in that soup though, it turns everything purple. Other than using it to make my Grandad’s Pickled Red Cabbage I have never done anything exciting or blogworthy with this beautiful Brassica. Until now that is.
I found a recipe for roasted red cabbage steaks on Drizzle & Dip that immediately caught my eye. She used a different spice mix but the idea is the same and I have been wanting to incorporate Za’atar into a recipe for a while.
Za’atar is herb and spice blend popular throughout the Middle East most often made with a mix of dried oregano, thyme, sesame seeds, sumac and salt. There are other variations if you want to research it more.
It has many uses but its most common guise is to be mixed with olive oil, rubbed over flatbread dough and baked. You can also dip your toasted flatbread straight into a pot of it on the table. It can be used as a quick and easy marinade or rub for meat, fish and vegetables as well, as I have done here.
Za’atar Spice Roasted Red Cabbage Steaks
Serves 2-3 as a side dish. Vegan, gluten-free.
For the za’atar
- 1 Tbsp sumac (used ground cumin or coriander if you can’t find it)
- 1 Tbsp fresh or dried thyme
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1/4 tsp salt
- a few grindings of black pepper
- a pinch of red chilli flakes
Mix this all together and store in an airtight container.
- 3 – 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 a red cabbage (or more) cut into 1/2 – 1 cm thick slices
- sea salt to serve
Mix the oil with the za’atar in a small bowl. Preheat the oven to 180C and line baking sheet with baking paper.
Lay the cabbage steaks out on the baking sheet and spread the za’atar oil all over them, you may need some more oil. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes depending on thickness and serve sprinkled with sea salt.
Serve these as a side dish or for a party as part of a mezze table with some Baba Ghanoush, Muhammara, Sweet Potato Filo Cigars , Roasted Beetroot Hummus and this Lebanese Lentil Salad. Just a suggestion.
Make some more of the Za’atar straight away so you will always have some for dipping bread into or for a quick salad dressing or to serve over a plain hummus. The possiblities are endless.
You will be addicted, I am.
Things That Made Me Smile Today
This little fella was all ready for the rain. He was really working that outfit and Rufus was a little jealous of all the attention he was getting…
Cook Eat Live Vegetarian 
Looks heavenly!
Sent from my iPhone
This sounds lovely! I’m going to make that dressing and use it to coat sliced courgettes before oven roasting them. Or I might just dry fry the courgettes and drizzle the dressing on afterwards.
Yum! Was looking for a new flavour for tonight’s dinner – so you’ve really helped. Thanks!
Elle xx
This is such a clever use of red cabbage. Typically I use it grated in salads but I’ll have to switch things up and try your recipe 🙂
I made my own za’atar recently for a chicken dish and loved it. Your version is a little different, and sounds good with the red cabbage!
Tell Rufus he’s got nothing to worry about… oh my look at that cutie… ooops I mean Rufus you’re good! Great looking steaks!
Hija ! you’ve taken things up another notch with this one,sounds delice dahling. When the red cabbages come back I’ll give it a whirl. Besitos. xx
I bought sumac the other day and I really like the taste, but I wasn’t sure how to use it. This is perfect.
Natalie, you post arrives at a perfect time. I don’t have this particular spice mix but I do have cabbage and I have been contemplating it!
These look SOOOOO good! I love Za’atar, and luckily I can find multiple variations where I live (or have also ordered it online). It is a great spice blend to use on almost anything, but I had not seen it used this way before. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Just made this and the cabbage is delicious! I am generally a horrible cook and love to eat fresh and colourful veggies – well, meals, really – and I’d never been able to properly cook red cabbage before. It always turned out too sickly sweet. Life-changing! I’ll try to make za’atar from scratch when my I run out of my ready-made mélange.