By Chef Brian Huston

This summer seasonal dish of Burnt Cabbage with Blueberry Honey Glaze is layered over Ginger Cream laced with fresh corn and topped with a delicious Salsa Macha with Blueberries sauce. This is a 4-part recipe.  For ease of preparation, each part lists the ingredients and directions separately. 

Makes 4 servings

Ginger Cream

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup sliced fresh ginger
• 1 large shallot or 1/4 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 3 ears of corn, kernels removed and reserved, each cob cut into 4 rounds
• 1 quart heavy cream

Directions: 

1. In sauce pot, over medium heat, sauté ginger, shallot and garlic until translucent. 
2. Add chunks of corn cobs and cream and steep over low heat for 10 minutes. Strain and set aside. 

Salsa Macha with Blueberries

Ingredients:

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup almonds
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 3 dried arbor chilis, seeded and steamed
• 2 dried ancho chilies, seeded and steamed
• 2 dried guajillo chilies, seeded and steamed
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. In a small pot, combine the oil, almonds and garlic. Gently cook over low heat until the oil bubbles and the garlic are golden brown, about 10 minutes. 
2. Add sesame seeds and chilies. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer oil mixture to a blender with vinegar, sugar and salt and blend until smooth.
3.  Fold 1 cup of blueberries into 1 cup of Salsa Macha. (Note: This will make more Salsa Macha than you need for the recipe, but it is delicious with almost anything – eggs, roasted vegetables and hummus.)

Blueberry Honey Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Champagne vinegar
• 1 cup honey
• 2 cups blueberries

Directions:

1. In a saucepan add the vinegar, honey and blueberries.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.  
2. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.

Burnt Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 1 small head cabbage, quartered, core intact
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. Add a small amount of olive oil to a hot skillet. Season each quartered head of cabbage with salt and pepper. One at a time, hard sear to almost burnt, each quarter of cabbage on the two cut sides. Place cabbage in baking dish and coat with the Blueberry Honey Glaze. Roast for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile combine Ginger Cream with reserved corn kernels in a saucepan. Over medium-low heat, bring cream to a simmer and reduce cream in half. Season to taste with salt and a generous amount of black pepper.
4. When the cabbage is fork-tender, remove it from the oven. 
5. Using a large serving platter, spoon Ginger Cream with Corn onto a platter. Lay cabbage over corn.  Top with Salsa Macha with Blueberries.  

 

Tips:

• How to Remove the Seeds and Devein Dried Chiles: First remove the stem by pulling or cutting it off. Open the chili lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and any white membranes using your fingers, a spoon, or a small knife.  
• How to Rehydrate Dried Chiles with Steam: Place the dried peppers in a bowl, pour hot or simmering water over them.  Cover to allow the steam to soften them. The peppers are ready when they are pliable and soft, after about 15-30 minutes. For enhanced flavor, toast the peppers in a dry skillet for a few seconds per side until fragrant before steaming them.