I do this for most of my recipes, and on one hand it’s a hat tip to the people who came before me and helped me learn how to become an accomplished home cook. That being said every cookbook you’ve ever read is doing the same thing as I’m doing here. Somebody saw a recipe and said “Maybe I can do it better” or “What if I try this with different ingredients”.
That being said let’s start with the inspiration:
So Fallow is a Micheline Star Restaurant in London and their youtube channel is AMAZING.
That being said I’m a home cook, and don’t have a professional kitchen, so the idea of braising cabbage in the oven for an hour seems like a LOT of work for somebody who just wants a nice veggie side for dinner.
And braising is VERY similar to the pressure cooking environment in an instant pot, and the steam pressure allows for food to braise much faster. All that being said I first tried this recipe very close to how they did it, and it was delicate, rich….and BLAND. If you like just buttery soft cabbage, then try it just with salt pepper butter and a little water, but here’s how I got more flavor!
So let’s get going!
Start with a 6 quart Instant pot and half a green cabbage
Then cut that half into quarters (technically 8ths of the whole head) and cut out the big part of the stem (try to leave a sliver of the steam to keep the cabbage more whole for the cooking, but honestly mine fell apart this time and it was FINE!) and toss it into the instant pot with some olive oil (you can use butter or another cooking fat) salt and pepper and set it on sautee
Start flipping this until the leaves start to wilt and get a little charred on the edges.
I probably could have gotten a little more color on the leaves, but I had compleatly removed the stem, and they started falling apart.
Now as the cabbage is browning get this next part ready because the next step is fast. First rough dice a small onion:
And measure out 1.5oz of Low sodium soy sauce, or better, Tamari, and apple cider vinegar (or the vinegar of your choice).
If you don’t keep a bar jigger in your kitchen….maybe you should. But 1.5 oz is 3 tablespoons, or one regulation shot-glass.
Once you think the cabbage is as brown as you want it add the onions and any other spices you might want to add. I wanted to add some caraway seeds just because they pair so well with cabbage, instead I added some Nigella seeds (sometimes called Black Caraway, tho they don’t taste very similar) quickly add the liquid and SEAL THE LID.
Seriously I had the camera ready just before I dumped this in, so I could snap the picture and seal the pot! Then set the pot on High pressure for 35 mins:
You’ll notice in the video the cabbage isn’t swimming in liquid, also as the cabbage cooks it’ll release a bit of liquid, so to keep this sealed system from being soup, you want JUST ENOUGH liquid to make a head of steam and not much more. Again this is a 6 quart pot. The first time you try this recipe I suggest you stand by and watch to make sure your pot builds pressure and seals, you might need to add more liquid, and for a pot that needs more steam you can use a little more water.
And we’re home free now. Just wait for it to be done, and after the time is done you can turn off the pot (or let it keep warm if dinner is in a bit) but let the pressure release for at LEAST 10 mins, or until the pressure has released naturally.
Once the pressure is released you’ll notice there is a bit more liquid (you can actually save this for your next batch) Simply scoop the cabbage out of the liquid and dinner is served!
It has all the rich goodness of the Fallow recipe, but DEEP flavor. It’s a GREAT way to enjoy a cabbage, and a healthy veggie for your next meal!
Enjoy!
