They say all good things come in threes. Chef and restaurateur Selin Kiazim definitely thinks so. In her newest cookbook Three, she shares recipes that teach home cooks to leverage three key elements — acid, texture, and contrast — to elevate any meal. Kiazim started cooking at an early age, mostly for family and friends, but it was only after completing a year of art foundation that she realised the food world was where she wanted to be.
Kiazim regularly wows guests at her Shoreditch restaurant OKLAVA, but the past 18 months caused a lot of uncertainty. “Like most chefs and restaurant owners in the first lockdown, I went from the normal 100mph, juggling a minimum of 50 challenges at a time kind of life, to sitting at home, twiddling my thumbs, and watching the news. It was the perfect, albeit slightly nerve-wracking opportunity to get stuck into this book.” Taking inspiration from the big family barbecues that Kiazim says are a mainstay or Turkish-Cypriot Sundays, this charred hispi cabbage recipe with yoghurt, apple salsa, and bergamot will bring a bit of sunshine to even the coldest winter night.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE MAIN DISH
1 hispi cabbage
Extra-virgin olive oil
50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter
1 tbsp dried chilli (red pepper)
Flakes (pul biber, preferably)
1 apple, diced
50g (1¾oz) almonds, toasted and chopped
1 small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely shredded
Sea salt flakes (kosher salt)
Vinegar (red, white, apple cider, or moscatel)
1 bergamot
INGREDIENTS FOR THE YOGHURT SAUCE
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 banana shallots, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 tsp thyme leaves
100ml (3½fl oz) white wine
150ml (5fl oz) double (heavy) cream
5 tbsp thick yoghurt
Credit: Chris Terry
METHOD
This dish just has it all: it is unusual and completely indulgent and will blow any guests’ socks off. The yoghurt sauce is probably one of my favourite go-to sauce recipes. Even that sauce by itself is worth making, I promise, and it will go well with anything you would normally use a cream sauce for.
To make the sauce, in a small pan, add the extra-virgin olive oil and warm over a medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring every few minutes, for 15 minutes or until the shallots are a deep golden brown. Add the garlic, thyme and a little salt and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook until the liquid has reduced by two thirds. Add the double (heavy) cream and reduce by another third, stirring the pan every few minutes. Take the pan off the heat and leave for 5 minutes. Pour the mix into a blender, add the yoghurt and immediately blitz to form a smooth sauce, adjusting the seasoning if necessary. Keep warm but don’t let the sauce boil, or it will split.
Heat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7. Remove any dark green outer leaves from the cabbage and cut it into 4 wedges. Cut away most of the stalk but leave a little so the wedge stays intact. You can either roast these on a baking sheet or cook them in a pan in the oven – the latter is my preferred method to ensure charred edges. In a large, ovenproof frying pan (skillet) add a little olive oil, and place over a high heat.
Add the cabbage wedges to the pan and season with fine salt. Cook until browned on one side, flip over to the other edge and then place the whole pan in the oven. Cook for 10–15 minutes
or until the cabbage is soft. You can test this by inserting a skewer or the tip of a small knife in the thickest part to see if it comes out easily.
Melt the butter in a small pan and continue to cook over a gentle heat until it turns golden brown. Take off the heat, strain through a fine sieve, and then add the dried chilli (red pepper) flakes.
In a small bowl, combine the apple with the almonds, parsley, and a pinch of sea salt flakes (kosher salt). Dress with olive oil and vinegar to your liking – I like to make the salsa quite sharp to cut through the richness of the sauce.
Spoon the yoghurt sauce onto a plate, top with a cabbage wedge, scatter over the salsa, pour over a little chilli butter and then, finally, finely grate over the zest of the bergamot.
THREE: Acid, Texture, Contrast by Selin Kiazim (Quadrille, £25) Photography ©Chris Terry. Order here.
Any Questions or Tips to add?