Roast Cabbage Wedges with Mustard-Preserved Lemon Dressing

This recipe started from my frustration with another recipe that we recently made for dinner. Paul had wanted to make this cabbage with sausage recipe, using our local merguez sausages, and I took the extremely rare step of actually following a recipe to the letter. I am a terrible recipe follower - I tinker, I tweak, if I'm out of one thing I'm happy to substitute for another. Sometimes I change a recipe because I know a better technique, or because I'm trying to be healthier, but most of the time it's simply because I prefer things done certain ways. I like roasted carrots better than boiled, I'm partial to slicing my onions very thinly when caramelizing them, etc.

The dinner recipe was delicious, but it irked me that the recipe had you blanch wedges of cabbage. Instead of the beautiful picture of perfect cabbage wedges, as I predicted my cabbage wedges all drifted into disparate pieces while blanching, landing in a tumble on the plate. As I was puzzling over how to present cabbage in lovely shaped wedges, I thought of roasting them. Roasting cabbage had never occured to me before, but it's great. The outer edges curl up and crisp like those oh-so-popular kale chips, while the center cooks until just barely soft and tender. Top with a vinaigrette and they're a nice side dish to whatever else you're having with dinner.



Roast Cabbage Wedges with Mustard-Preserved Lemon Dressing
A bit of shaved pecorino cheese and some chopped chives on top would be a nice way to dress this dish up a bit.

Cabbage:
1 small head of green cabbage (any variety), sliced into medium wedges with the core still attached
olive oil, salt, and pepper
Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 preserved lemon, chopped
1 teaspoon capers

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Rub baking sheet with oil, place cabbage wedges on top, and drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the cabbage for 20-30 minutes, until the outer leaves are slightly blackened and the inner core is tender when poked with a knife. Use your judgement, it may take more or less time depending on the size of your cabbage..
2. Meanwhile whisk together all the dressing ingredients. When ready to serve, place the cabbage wedges on a plate and spoon the dressing over top.