Off with its head

Has mon petit chou* reached its peak?

Photo by Rachel Clark on Unsplash

Thank you for reading and welcome to my world.

Today it’s all about cabbage, in particular Hispi cabbage which is everywhere on restaurant menus.

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Read down a menu, any menu that features seasonal ingredients or fancies itself: fancy. Sooner or later the words ‘chared hispi cabbage’ will emerge. And every time I think the same thing. Aren't there any other cabbage varieties, or vegetables in the world? Why hispi?

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The Palomar; Hispi Cabbage, Onion, Chilli Shatta, Aubergine Yoghurt

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In an article dating from 2021, Nick Lander quotes chef Tom Pemberton who ‘‘suggests that hispi’s ubiquity can be explained by its versatility, ‘near all-year-round availability’ (Portugal grows a lot of it) and ease of preparation. On top of all these factors, there’s no waste with hispi cabbages and they remain relatively cheap.’’

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Death by Tacos; Seared hispi; ‘smoked sea salt. We then oven roast it and baste it in a vegan Mexican chilli crisp butter. Once cooked we serve on a base of whipped tofu and top it with our vegan cashew cheese, more vegan butter and some fresh chives.’

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Shaunie Dykes, Head Of Operations at Natures’s Choice in New Covent Garden Market agrees that hispi is still a favourite for many chefs because it’s versatile and reliable, though he says that some are experimenting with other vegetables to mix things up.

He adds; ‘‘it would be nice to see more of underused vegetables like Kohlrabi or Romanesco as they’re just as interesting and versatile.’’

Why hispi? Because, Shanie says, ‘‘it’s easy to work with, caramelizes beautifully, and has a subtle sweetness that works in all kinds of dishes. Plus, it’s cost-effective and readily available, which makes it a practical yet elevated choice for chefs.’’

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Bubala London; Hispi Cabbage, Romesco, Nori & Golden raisin

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Over at Rushtons wholesalers, Hannah Turner has a major crush on hispi saying ‘‘I LOVE hispi and our chefs do too.’’ It is, she states ‘‘a culinary chameleon. Its versatility allows it to shine in various dishes, whether incorporated into mains, served raw in crisp salads and slaws, or most frequently quartered, seasoned, and grilled to perfection as a delicious side dish while offering sustainable and seasonal appeal.’’

Shaunie hits the nail on the cabbage head. Hispi is relatively cheap. There’s little waste and it’s easy to portion. And it’s available year round.

Hannah thinks that hispi has earned its place as a go-to ingredient for its affordability, reliability, and ability to elevate dishes with minimal effort. She names some establishments that have recently purchased Hispi cabbage from them; The French House, Pearly Queen, Spring, Nobel Rot, Lucky and Joy, Cafe Cecilia, and The Pelican.

‘‘Its enduring popularity is a testament to the growing appreciation for local, seasonal produce.’’ she adds. I could think of myriad seasonal vegetables that would fit that description.

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Oren; Barbecued hispi, Muhammara

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Andy Lynes is a Masterchef semi-finalist and published author. He writes about food, drink and travel, specialising in chefs and restaurants and covers the UK restaurant scene. Find him on Substack here;

Smashed

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The ideal person to ask about the history of hispi on restaurant menus, I asked him; How often do you see it on menus?

‘‘I see it a lot. For the purposes of this article, I thought of three restaurants off the top of my head that I thought might feature it on their menus, and lo and behold there it was. At Roe in Canary Wharf, they serve smoked hispi cabbage with tahini, kohlrabi and pumpkin seeds for £14; at Lita, hispi accompanies a £52 cod, Champagne and Ossetra caviar dish, and at Med. in Brighton, they serve hispi with apple, blue cheese and hazelnut. I’m sure I could find many more examples.’’

When did Andy remember seeing hispi appear?

‘‘About a decade ago. I first remember seeing it at 64 Degrees in Brighton in about 2014 where they served it roasted with hollandaise and truffle among other variations. Peak hispi was probably when chef and restauranteur Gary Usher opened a restaurant named after the cabbage in Didsbury, South Manchester in 2016.’’

Why do you think it's become so common?

‘‘It’s easy to prepare - remove a few of the outer leaves, slice in half or quarters and it’s portioned and ready to be cooked. The cut side caramelises beautifully in a pan or under the grill so it looks great on the plate, and when it’s cooked properly, it’s delicious. You can dress it up with pretty much anything so it makes the perfect base for a small plate or it’s great on its own as a side dish or garnish for a main course. It’s not an expensive ingredient so if you can tart it up with a few things and sell it for £14 then that is great for a restaurant’s Gross Profit Margin.’’

And finally when you see it on a menu what are your first thoughts?
’’I wouldn’t necessarily order it because I cook it quite often at home. I also think it has become a little too ubiquitous and maybe chefs should think about alternatives. Savoy cabbage has fallen out of favour somewhat from its heyday in the ‘90s so maybe it’s due a comeback.’’

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Carmel; Charred Hispi Cabbage, Labneh, Ras El Hanout, Macadamia Dukkah

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There’s nothing wrong with hispi. It’s the ubiquitousness, the tick-tock recipes, the amount of times it appears on menus. Not hispi, again. I’m glad that cabbage is having a renaissance. Many of you will remember the smell of boiling cabbage from your childhoods, either at home or at school, the canteen joke about cabbage being boiled for hours until falling apart, the use of bicarb in the cooking water. Being told to ‘eat your greens, they’re good for you’. Cabbage as poverty food, prison food, gulag food. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, weak cabbage soup is the family’s only meal.

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ROVI; grilled hispi cabbage, porchini, almond and chestnut butter

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Cabbage is one of the few vegetables grown world wide. It turns up in sauerkraut and kimchi, in stews, dumplings, cabbage rolls, pastries, to be stuffed, and made into coleslaw. Sweet and sour red cabbage. Pickled red cabbage. Cabbage, with bacon and potatoes as national dish in Ireland and Wales. And where would champ, colcannon and bubble and squeak be without cabbage.

Photo by Marina Reich on Unsplash

Hispi is also known as pointed cabbage, sweetheart, conical, or Chinese cabbage. The cabbage family runs into hundreds of varieties. The wide and diverse brassica family all come from wild cabbage, still to be found, especially in seaside settings. Pliny the Elder in The Natural History devotes a whole chapter to the subject of cabbages, musing that ‘‘Cabbage and coleworts, which at the present day are the most highly esteemed of all the garden vegetables, were held in little repute, I find, among the Greeks; but Cato on the other hand, sings the wondrous praises of the cabbage’’

The first headed cabbage, the Savoy, dates from around 1500. There are two theories about its name. The first; that it originated in Europe and was first documented in the 1500s in a region once ruled by the Italian House of Savoy.

The second; that the word comes from a translation of the Dutch word savoyekool.

In 1648, Jacob Bobart the Elder was growing many cultivated cabbages in the Oxford Botanic Garden, including 'White Cabbage Colewort', 'Coleflower', 'Savoy Cabbage', 'Common Colewort' and 'Parsly Colewort'

The cabbage was first taken to America by Jacques Cartier in the 16th century and introduced to Australia during the late 18th century. However, in East Asia, non-heading cabbages such as kale and pak choi have been enjoyed since BC and were cultivated in North China.

In season now; Savoy cabbages have deep, dark ruffled green leaves. Cooked in so many ways from the traditional cabbage rolls to simply steamed or stir fried.

January King. Deep green and bruised purple leaves, dense, heavy, sweet. Sometimes known as red savoy in USA.

Red cabbage for winter salads and to braise with sharp apple, sugar and vinegar to balance sweet and sour, and if you’re me, a handful of caraway seeds.

Spring brings cabbages with conical hearts and Spring greens, usually heartless, dark, slightly bitter green leaves to quickly steam or stir fry.

It’s become a pleasant surprise to find restaurants that have ventured beyond hispi to embrace other vegetables. At Holy Carrot in Notting Hill, this months menu includes Smoked Beetroot, Blueberry Agrodolce, and Pine Nuts. Coal Roasted Leeks and Celeriac Schnitzel. Last week at Sally Butchers restaurant Persopolis in south London, the vegetarian menu highlights included parsnips roasted with grape molasses, and thin slices of kohlrabi with fenugreek.

Chefs are using other vegetables as star ingredients; carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, bitter leaves like radicchio, castelfranco, treviso, tardivo, and as Hannah from Rushtons says, it’s now calcot season, the Catalonian sweet onions frequently served with a romesco sauce.

I notice that restaurant Hispi doesn’t have the erstwhile vegetable on its menu. It has braised red cabbage instead. Could other restaurants with hibachi or josper grills to play with, find new vegetables to highlight?

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Next week would be my 50th post on Substack. I’ll be out of the country and I may not have time to finish writing the post I’m planning before I leave. So next Monday there may not be a post or if I can, there may be a postcard from Tallin.

*sounds a lot better than ‘my little cabbage’. The French do have a way with terms of endearments