Los Angeles dishes that demonstrate the magical powers of cabbage

Brussels sprouts had their moment, becoming a culinary celebrity thanks to gastropubs in the 2000s. Cauliflower still reigns as the cruciferous substitute for meat- and carb-heavy favorites. Kale invaded the chip aisle and salad section of menus years ago.

I'm all for the cabbages, but I'm looking forward to cabbage becoming trendy. Cabbage has been on a slow but steady path, often relegated to a supporting role in the form of salads and side dishes. It's not usually the star. When it is, I can't get enough of it.

I first started eating cabbage at dinner when Josiah Citrin introduced diners to his charcoal-roasted cabbage at Charcoal restaurant in 2015. The late Jonathan Gold decided it was the restaurant's best dish in his 2016 review. I don't know if I've ever visited Venice or the newer West Hollywood Charcoal without a charred wedge on the table.

“It’s a magical ingredient,” says Klementine Song, head chef at Tsubaki restaurant in Echo Park. “It’s amazing what you can get out of it without even touching it. I can’t say that about all vegetables.”

Tsubaki's Kyabetsu Miso Kushiyaki

Last week, from my corner seat at Tsubaki Bar, I marveled at Song’s kyabetsu miso-kushiyaki. It came as two skewers of grilled cabbage atop a light beige sauce. Simple and straightforward, it was also the cabbage twist I’d been waiting for.

Green cabbage leaves are cut into precise squares, tightly strung onto skewers and grilled on a hibachi grill with salt and olive oil. The skewers are a mix of all the layers of cabbage, with varying degrees of firmness. Some parts are thick and still crunchy, while others are wilted and almost creamy.

Song cooks the cabbage on the hottest part of the grill for maximum char, leaving the edges black and curly with a slight smoky flavor.

For the dipping sauce, caramelize some chopped Tokyo negi onions in oil, then add sake and mirin to the pan. Emulsify the mixture in a blender with sweet white miso and melted butter until it forms a smooth paste.

I took my time pulling the leaves off the skewers, swapping out bites of plain cabbage with those dipped in the sauce beneath. A few drops of juice from the provided lemon wedge enhanced the miso-negi butter and made the salt flakes pop.

Song says the skewers are a take on a marinated, roasted cabbage dish that was available when the restaurant first opened in 2017. Despite its popularity, the preparation used to smoke the kitchen and was removed from the menu. She reworked the dish as skewers and introduced them during the restaurant's seventh anniversary event earlier this year.

“I’m really surprised by how well they sell, but it’s one of the best-selling dishes,” she says. “Roasted cabbage is delicious on its own with a little salt and oil.”

I agree and would happily eat the skewers on their own, but I have a sweet tooth with miso butter and negi, and the plate comes back to the kitchen perfectly scraped.

Charred Cobb'age from Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery

Agnes' Grilled Cobb Salad in Pasadena features shredded grilled cabbage in a take on the Cobb salad.

(creativity in the back of the house)

At Agnes in Old Pasadena, Vanessa and Thomas Tilaka Kalb serve one of the city’s most cheerful menus. Caramelized baby leeks, spinach, and raclette cheese combine to create a warm, melty sauce alongside wonton chips sprinkled with Kool Ranch seasoning. On Thursdays, they stuff a burger with Kaylin + Kaylin fried pickles with honey mustard. They also dress grilled cabbage like your favorite Cobb salad.

It looks like a Cobb and eats like a Cobb, but instead of crisp iceberg lettuce or perhaps romaine lettuce, there are chunks of charred, roasted cabbage as the base of the salad.

“We love cabbage,” says Kalb, who developed the dish with sous chef Sharon Samosir. “We wanted it to be summery and related to the Cobb salad.”

The cabbage undergoes a laborious preparation that involves salting it to remove moisture and then tossing it with Old Bay seasoning. It is dipped in garlic confit oil, simmered until tender, and then grilled to be served at the fireplace.

Garlic oil permeates each leaf, sweetening and softening the astringency sometimes associated with raw collard greens. The exterior is almost charred, with several crispy bits on the edges. The interior remains soft and creamy.

It's generously dressed with a blue cheese dressing packed with chunks of Maytag blue cheese and garnished with fresh chives and parsley. Instead of the traditional bacon Cobb, there are prosciutto chips that break on contact. Golden cherry tomatoes and sliced ​​red onion add some freshness. And instead of chopped egg, Kalb cures the egg yolks with salt and then grates them over the salad for an extra hit of salty umami.

Like any good Cobb salad, the “Cobb”age is meal-appropriate, impressive in presentation, and packed with enough texture, whimsy, and zest to be more appealing than any other salad on a menu.

Beyond the Cobb era, Kalb plans to introduce a stuffed cabbage this winter and wants to “explode into borscht flavors” with a possible beet and crème fraîche filling.

“Everyone thinks cabbage is just for simple salads, but it’s quite versatile,” she says. “I love it.”

Me too.