Savoy cabbage gratin

I wanted to find something creative to do with the head of Savoy cabbage I got in a recent CSA share. Thanks to Google, I came across this lovely blog post by Orangette and decided to give it a try. Note to self, probably not a good idea to make this when it is about a million degrees out (turning on the oven in this weather was a bad idea), and also not a good idea to start this at 9 pm (it bakes for over an hour).

A few notes on the cheese…the recipe calls for Saint-Marcellin or a “good” triple-cream cheese. She recommended Delice de Bourgogne, Pierre Robert, or Brillat-Savarin (but not Brie)…”good” seems to also mean “French”. As much as I dislike asking for directions in the grocery store, I could not find any of these in the Whole Foods cheese section and had to ask for help. I showed the cheese girl (probably not the technical name of her position) the list of possible cheeses, and they were out of stock. But she was very helpful and asked what I needed it for, and let me sample a triple-cream from the Cowgirl Creamery in Vermont. It was delicious, and I figured I could not go wrong since I’ve never made this recipe before. I hope I’m right because it cost $30.99 per pound!

Cheese from behind the glass case

I adjusted a couple of ingredients…substituted olive oil for some of the butter and garlic scapes for the scallions. I could not really get the cabbage to brown, which may be related to the heat not being high enough or the olive oil/butter switch. It felt like I was cooking the daylights out of it, and when I removed the foil, I realized that I was indeed cooking the daylights out of it. Next time I might cut down on the baking time…and it might also be delicious with some sliced potatoes.

Cabbage pre-oven

 Savoy cabbage gratin
Source: Orangette
Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Savoy cabbage (about 1 ½ lb), quartered, cored, and sliced into ½-inch-wide shreds
3 garlic scapes, chopped
Salt
1¾ cups mild chicken or vegetable stock
1 ripe Saint-Marcellin cheese (about 3 oz.), or an equal amount of triple-cream cheese

Directions
1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a large (roughly 10”x 14”) gratin dish, or another dish of similar size.
2. Melt the butter in a large (12-inch or bigger) skillet over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Add the cabbage and garlic scapes and season with salt. Cook, stirring, until the cabbage is nicely wilted and just beginning to brown in spots, about 10 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a steady simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
3. Transfer the cabbage, garlic scapes, and all the liquid into the prepared gratin dish. Cover tightly with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, and continue to bake until the liquid is mostly evaporated, about 20 minutes more. 
4. Remove the dish from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Cut the cheese into small lumps and scatter it over the cabbage. Return the dish to the oven, and cook until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Voila, with the help of Instagram!