Cabbage Steaks w/ Italian Red Sauce! GF, V, BED, SCD & Paleo!

Hey Happy Tummies!

How's everyone's week going?

Things here are great! I had a really wonderful day yesterday on set shooting a commercial. I got to be cooking in the kitchen, so it was a lot of fun! 

Then this weekend will be the same old shenanigans! NYC is the best at this time of year. I love exploring new parts of town, and going to rooftop bars with my friends!

So the other night, I made a really yummy dinner. I felt like Italian, but as you know...on the Specific Carb Diet, pasta is hard to come by.

So I decided to get creative. I thought, what makes Italian food so good? --- a bomb sauce, that's what!

Sooo, I made a terrific red sauce, and slathered it over a deliciously caramelized "cabbage steak."

And people...cabbage may be a humble vegetable. -- Whenever I think of cabbage I think of a scene from Annie where poor people in Hoovervilles are drinking cabbage soup just to survive:)

But seriously, prepared this way...it is elevated to gourmet status.

Don't knock it till you try it!

My Cabbage Steaks with Italian Red Sauce is Gluten Free, Vegan, Body Ecology Diet and Specific Carb Diet friendly, AND Paleo! (Phew! That's a mouthful!)

Here's what you need: (serves 2)

1 head of cabbage - cut into inch-thick steaks

Sauce:

1/4 cup cashews
1 tomato, diced (BED sub red pepper)
1 red pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tap dried basil
Salt and pepper

Fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Cut the cabbage into 1/2 inch steaks (You should get about 3 out of each cabbage). Make sure to keep part of the core intact at the base of each steak.

Spritz the outside with olive oil and place on a tin-foil-lined, olive-oil-sprayed baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, flipping once half way through. Sprinkle with sea salt when you take it out of the oven.

Meanwhile, sauté your onions, oregano, basil, salt and pepper in 1 tsp EVOO for about 4 minutes, until softened. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook for another 4 minutes. Finally, add the tomato and cook for another 3 minutes, until softened. Set aside.

In a food processor, grind the cashews until they form a fine powder, about 30 seconds. Then, add your sautéed veggies and process until you get a smooth sauce.

To plate, top each steak with a generous portion of the sauce, and sprinkle with fresh basil as a garnish.

This meal was truly delicious. Cabbage does a beautiful thing when you roast it: it caramelizes and becomes chewy and hearty and wonderfully flavorful! Raw cabbage can be a bit polarizing, but when it softens and the natural sugars release, it is just outstanding...I'm serious!

And the sauce...wow oh wow. An Italian grandmother would be proud! It's got those warm and "herby" notes from the basil and oregano, and then a bright sweetness from the tomatoes. And the cashews give it rich and buttery flavor as well. The final "pop" of fresh basil brings it all together and gives it a burst of color!

Who said Paleo and Gluten Free folks can't enjoy Italian?!?

Try Roasted Cabbage Steaks....I DARE you! :D

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Until next time!