Charred Cabbage with Spicy Pork + Lime Crema

A lot of you are asking for recipes that can spice up your relationship with cabbage. So, I thought this recipe was the perfect answer to *literally* spice up your cabbage love life.

So wtf did I do to spice it up and create this beauty that looks like it came from a Mexican fusion restaurant menu? Well, I decided to lightly pickle and spice some thick cabbage slices and then broil them to achieve peak crispiness and a little tenderness. I then cooked some chorizo, which I took out of the casing so I could break it up like a ground meat, and topped the cabbage with this chorizo. I then finished it off with a lime crema and cilantro, and bam, that’s how you get this edible work of art. Before we get to the recipe, I want to tell you how you can spice up your ground meat to mimic chorizo.

How to make your own “chorizo” with ground pork, turkey or chicken

It’s allllllll in the spices. The preferred meat here is obviously pork, since that’s what chorizo sausage is made of. However, I understand some people don’t eat pork. That’s TOTALLY fine! Spice your meat accordingly and you’ll have just as delicious of a dish. You can also use tempeh but you may want to alter the measurements here since I don’t cook with tempeh enough to know how these particular amounts will work with the texture and natural flavor.

For 1 lb of ground meat

Feel free to alter this to your taste. If using all ground powder, just mix in a bowl with a whisk. If using whole seeds or leaves, make sure to toast for 2-3 minutes and then grind them up in a food processor!

Once all the spices are ground into a powder, combine them all in a bowl. With your hands, mix them into the ground meat and then add the vinegar. Massage everything into the ground meat until it’s all evenly incorporated and the meat begins to take on a red color.

DIY Chorizo Spice Blend

• 1 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika (or regular if that is all you have)
• 1 tbsp chili powder (even better if you can find ancho chili powder)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano (if you can’t find Mexican, don’t sub for regular Oregano. Just skip this)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or ground into paste
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, white vinegar or red wine vinegar (I prefer apple cider vinegar)