Looking for a Valentine‘s menu to sweep your date off their feet? Keen to keep the Veganuary vibes rolling on into February? Or just stuck in one of those food ruts and need a little inspo? That’s where Anna Lawson, a self-confessed “always hungry girl living in London” comes in. Having written for the likes of Dishpatch, BBC Good Food and Olive, she’s now sharing two of her FAVE recipes with us.
First up it’s her Miso Roasted Sweetheart Cabbage, think deliciously charred hunky wedges of cabbage roasted in miso, ginger and lime. We’re not drooling, you are. As Anna says “it’s got all the good stuff: salty, sweet, umami, spicy, soft, crunchy and super fresh” and very easy to veganise for all you plant-based peeps. And then there’s pud, so save room for these White Chocolate & Miso Blondies. “It’s a banging combination of savoury miso and chunks of sweet, creamy white chocolate, with a slightly chewy golden top and gooey centre. And they’re sooo easy to make”.
Ingredients
For the Miso Roasted Sweetheart Cabbage:
1 sweetheart cabbage (aka hispi cabbage, pointed cabbage or Chinese cabbage)
Sesame oil
2 tbsp white miso paste
½ lime, juiced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
For the cashews:
1 ½ tsp honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp mild chilli powder (or cayenne if you like things hot)
1 tbsp lime juice
2 handfuls (approx 60g) cashews, roughly chopped
To serve:
150g basmati rice
2 spring onions, finely chopped
½ red chilli, finely chopped
Handful of coriander leaves
Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 200/180 fan. Peel off the two large green outer leaves of the cabbage, finely slice them and set aside. Cut the remaining whole pointed cabbage into 4 large wedges, place in a roasting tray, drizzle with sesame oil (around 2-3 tbsp), then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 mins until completely soft and charred at the edges.
2. Next make the honey-chilli cashews. In a small bowl, mix the lime juice, honey, chilli powder and sesame oil with a large pinch of salt. Chuck in the chopped cashews and stir to coat, then tip onto a small baking tray. Set aside for later – you’ll cook them for the final ten mins of the cabbage time.
3. In a small bowl (I used the one from the cashews to save washing up!) mix the miso paste, lime juice and grated ginger with 2 tbsp just boiled water and whisk/stir until fully combined into a sauce-like consistency. Set aside for later.
4. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook your rice according to the packet. When there’s about 2 mins of cooking time left, chuck in the shredded cabbage from earlier. Drain.
5.When the cabbage only has 10 mins cooking time left, put your cashews in the oven too. They’ll cook fast on a high heat and get all nice and hot and sticky.
6. When your cabbage wedges are out of the oven, use a pastry brush to liberally spread your miso sauce all over each wedge, making sure to get all up inside the layers. Serve on top of the rice and shredded cabbage, topped with chopped spring onions, chilli, coriander leaves and the honey-chilli cashews. Each person will get two cabbage wedges.
Ingredients
For the White Chocolate & Miso Blondies:
170g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
250g light brown sugar
2 eggs (large or medium, either are fine)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 tbsp white miso paste
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
150g white chocolate, roughly chopped
Method
1. First, melt the butter in a large bowl (you can do this by zapping in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring between each burst OR in a pan on the hob over a low heat, OR in a heatproof bowl set over a bit of gently simmering water). Set aside to cool while you prepare your tin.
2. Preheat oven to 190/170 fan. Butter a 20 x 20cm brownie tin and line it with baking paper.
3. Come back to your melted butter and whisk in the sugar, eggs, vanilla and miso paste until thoroughly combined. Add the flour and baking powder and fold to combine, then fold in the chocolate chunks.
4. Bake for around 25 mins – it should have browned on the top and still have a very slight wobble in the middle. Trust in a little bit of wobble – it will cook more/harden as it cools!
5. Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into 12 squares.
@annalawsoneats
annalawsoneats.com
Handy in the kitchen and post about your cooking on the ‘gram? Drop us a DM to be featured.