Kick Off 2019 with Cabbage

The leafy green vegetable is a 2019 food trend prediction and New Year's Day tradition believed to bring good fortune.
Leuca's warm cabbage and caesar flavors dish.

ICE alum Anthony Ricco (Culinary, '01) is the executive chef at The William Vale hotel in Brooklyn, home to Italian restaurant Leuca among other concepts. Here, he shares chef-owner Andrew Carmellini's year-round cabbage recipe just as the leafy green gains notoriety and is served for good luck in the new year.

Warm cabbage at LeucaThis recipe for fire-roasted cabbage is a twist on a classic salad. We serve it at Leuca all year, and I love making this at home because it is warm with bursts of citrus, a little funk from the anchovy and tang from the cheese. This will make you a rock star at any dinner party.

Recipe

Warm Cabbage with Caesar Flavors

by Andrew Carmellini

Serves 4 or so, depending on the size of your cabbage 

Leuca's warm cabbage and caesar flavors dish.
  • 1 head green cabbage cut into quarters leaving the core intact
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
  • 2 teaspoons minced anchovy filets
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon minced golden raisins
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon Calabrian chili paste
  • 2 teaspoons minced capers
  1. Preheat the grill on highest setting.
  2. Place the cabbage on a cutting board. Using a large, very sharp knife, cut the cabbage in half and then in half again keeping the core intact.
  3. Place the cabbage pieces on a roasting rack and season with ¼ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Transfer the cabbage to the grill and cook until charred black about 7 minutes then turn over and repeat. Once charred, transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam for 20 minutes until cabbage is tender.
  4. Once the cabbage is cool cut the core out and cut into 1-inch pieces then reserve for plating.
  5. In a bowl, mix the minced anchovy, orange zest, caper, Calabrian chili paste, orange juice, garlic, olive oil, kosher salt and minced raisins together.
  6. Warm the cabbage on the grill or in the oven for 2 minutes then toss the cabbage in a large bowl with the anchovy vinaigrette.
  7. Serve in a large bowl and top with two tablespoons of fresh grated grana padana cheese and two tablespoons of lightly toasted breadcrumbs then top with four white anchovy filets and four lemon wedges to squeeze.

Follow in Chef Anthony's footsteps in ICE's Culinary Arts program.