New Year, New Vegetable

I suppose the title is a bit misleading, for cabbage is certainly not a new vegetable in my life, but it is the method of cooking the cabbage that is not only new to me, but unbelievably tasty. Up to this point I have believed that cabbage has two purposes - soup and coleslaw. My sweet Mom decided to get me a subscription to Martha Stewart Living and in the January issue there was this one page photo of roasted cabbage. I pulled it out and stuck it in my 'recipes to try' pile. I am thankful I did not wait long, because now that I have tasted roasted cabbage I have every intention of making it quite frequently. Dinner was ridiculously simple last night, and what made it even better was that it was also very healthy and amazingly delicious. I served the roasted cabbage with chicken breasts topped with sauteed mushrooms and toasted baguette rubbed with fresh garlic. Even if you think you don't like cabbage you must try this once, because it tastes so different from what you might expect.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Cut 1 green cabbage in quarters, leaving the core intact. Place on baking sheet and brush all sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place chicken on other end of baking sheet, brush with olive oil, and season. Bake for 15 minutes, turn, and bake 10 minutes more.

While roasting, saute sliced mushrooms in 1/2 Tbs butter. Toast baguette slices and rub with 1 clove of crushed garlic. Plate with chicken and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the cabbage and then add to plate. Devour immediately, using the bread to wipe up the delicious juices that remain.