Caramalised cabbage with turmeric

Here we have a three-ingredient-wonder of cabbage, coconut oil and turmeric... 

Level: Super easy
Prep time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head of green cabbage (anti-inflammatory, Vit A, B3,6, C, biotin, magnesium, folic acid) 
• 3 TBS of non-hydrogenated coconut oil (stable cooking oil, manganese, copper, selenium, zinc)
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric (IRON galore, Vit B6, C, magnesium) 

...Admittedly, this recipe isn't mine, but rather the genius invention of my dear brother-in-law Stephan - the same bro-in-law who gave the noodle of love its sticky name. He recently served this alongside the most tender oxtail and a nutty brown rice when I was visiting on a family vacation in Namibia, and I was blown away by his, um, cabbage. It was crisp, yet tender and so so sweet. Even my boyfriend, who shuns trying anything new (and god forbid it be a vegetable), was instantly convinced. He had three servings! The most incredible thing about this dish is the fact that there are so few ingredients to create magic, and that each ingredient has profound health benefits. If you'd like to know just HOW profound, subscribe to my newsletter, I go into more depth on each ingredient. 

Method:

Set a skillet or deep set pan onto medium to high heat, and heat up coconut oil.

In the mean time, roughly chop the cabbage into 5mm slices, and discard of the chubby stem bit. That bit won't tenderise. 

Once the oil has been heated, add the turmeric, swirling it around the oil to heat up the spice (tip: always add your spices and dried herbs to the oil before other ingredients to unlock the deep flavour of the spice whilst flavouring the oil). Now add the cabbage slices, trying to get as many layers to, in some part, touch the bottom of the pan. This will mean that even though you have plenty of cabbage in your pan, the caramelisation will spread over a few leaves here and there. 

Turn the heat to medium, and now we wait. Don't stir or turn the cabbage slices, but rather pick the pan up and swirl it around to cover the cabbage with the turmeric oil. If you'd like to speed up the process (but this may wilt the cabbage) you can place a lid loosely on to of the pan to steam the leaves.  

After about 20 minutes, when the underside of the cabbage has turned golden brown, turn the slices around and leave to set on that side for another 20 minutes or so. Add more oil if the first load has been absorbed - remember that coconut oil is a good fat and so only benefits you (mostly by helping the body convert bad cholesterol into good cholesterol - in a coconutshell). Also more coconut oil means more caramelisation.

At around 30 minutes the cabbage should be turning translucent, with a glow of turmeric. You'll also tell when the cabbage has caramelised, because it will start to smell like sweet angels sound singing in your kitchen. You could leave this frying for as long as you would want to tenderise the cabbage, but I like a bit of a crunch to it. Season with just a pinch of salt as to not overshadow the sweetness cabbage and the earthy note that turmeric lends.

Serve on its own or with wholegrain rice.

*Serving suggestion - add a splash of dark soy sauce if served with rice*