--- title: 'Charred Pointed Cabbage in Harissa Tomato with Tahini and Sumac Onions' slug: 'charred-pointed-cabbage-harissa-tomato-tahini' kind: 'recipe' revision: 1 source: 'mcp' created: '2026-09-29T16:25:42.767Z' url: 'https://noble-notations.ryanjnoble.dev/recipes/charred-pointed-cabbage-harissa-tomato-tahini' --- # Charred Pointed Cabbage in Harissa Tomato with Tahini and Sumac Onions _Seared Spitzkohl wedges braised in spiced tomato_ Pointed cabbage is cut into wedges and seared hard on both cut faces, then basted in brown butter. The wedges braise for a short time in a tomato sauce with harissa and cumin. Lemon tahini, onions pickled in sumac, herbs and sesame go on at the end. The charred faces stay above the liquid so they keep their crust. ## Why this revision First version. Written on 2026-09-29 from the idea of the viral charred cabbage in spiced tomato with tahini. Changes from that idea: more chilli from harissa, a brown butter baste, and sumac used raw on pickled onion. Not cooked yet. ## Categories - **Equipment**: Cast-iron pan - **Cuisine**: Levantine, North African - **Course**: Main, Side - **Technique**: Searing, Blooming, Braising, Emulsifying, Pickling, Reduction - **Diet**: Vegetarian ## Ingredients - 900 g Pointed cabbage - 30 ml Sunflower oil - 30 g Unsalted butter - 4.5 g Salt - 45 ml Extra virgin olive oil - 1 piece Onion, diced 5 mm - 5 clove Garlic - 30 g Tomato paste - 30 g Harissa - 3 g Cumin seed, ground - 3 g Smoked paprika - 2 g Coriander seed, ground - 0.5 g Cinnamon, ground - 2 g Chilli flakes - 400 g Crushed tomatoes - 160 ml Water - 5 g Honey - 1 g MSG - 80 g Tahini, stirred - 45 ml Lemon juice - 1 piece Red onion - 5 g Sumac - 10 g Flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked - 5 g Fresh mint, leaves picked - 8 g Sesame seeds, toasted ## Method ### Sumac onions 1. Cut the red onion in half. Slice it 1 mm thick. 2. Put the onion in a bowl with 3 g sumac, 15 ml lemon juice and 0.5 g salt. 3. Squeeze the onion with your hands for 30 s. It softens and turns pink. _(Pickling)_ 4. Let the onion stand for 15 min or longer. Leave it until you serve. _(15 min)_ ### Tahini sauce 5. Grate 1 garlic clove into 30 ml lemon juice. Add 0.5 g salt. Let it stand for 5 min. _(5 min)_ 6. Add the tahini and whisk. It becomes a stiff paste. This is correct. _(Emulsifying)_ 7. Whisk in 60 ml ice-cold water in small amounts. Stop when the sauce pours like double cream. _(Emulsifying)_ ### Cabbage 8. Remove damaged outer leaves from the cabbage. 9. Cut the cabbage lengthwise into 4 wedges through the core. Keep the core on each wedge. 10. Dry the cut faces with paper towel. Do not salt them yet. ### Sear 11. Heat the sunflower oil in the cast-iron pan on medium-high heat until it shimmers. 12. Put the wedges in the pan on one cut face. Put a smaller pan on top as a weight. _(Searing)_ 13. Cook for 6 min. Do not move them. The face must be dark brown and black at the leaf edges. _(6 min · Searing)_ 14. Turn the wedges onto the other cut face. Cook for 2 min. _(2 min · Searing)_ 15. Add the butter. When it foams and smells of nuts, spoon it over the wedges for 2 min. _(2 min)_ 16. Sprinkle 1.5 g salt on the charred faces. Put the wedges on a plate, charred side up. ### Sauce 17. Keep the pan and its brown residue. Reduce the heat to medium. Add 30 ml olive oil. 18. Add the diced onion. Cook for 5 min until soft and gold. Scrape the pan as it cooks. _(5 min)_ 19. Grate 4 garlic cloves into the pan. Cook for 1 min. _(1 min)_ 20. Add the tomato paste, harissa, cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, cinnamon and chilli flakes. _(Blooming)_ 21. Fry for 2 min. Stir all the time. Stop when the paste is brick-red and the oil turns red. _(2 min · Blooming)_ 22. Add the crushed tomatoes, 100 ml water, honey, MSG and 2 g salt. Scrape the pan clean. 23. Simmer for 3 min until slightly thick. The sauce must taste slightly too strong. _(3 min · Simmering)_ ### Braise 24. Put the wedges in the sauce, charred side up. Keep the charred faces above the liquid. 25. Put on a lid. Braise on low heat for 12 to 15 min. Start to test at 10 min. _(12 min · Braising)_ 26. Push a knife into the core. It must go in with a small resistance. 27. Remove the lid. Simmer for 3 min until a spoon leaves a clean line in the sauce. _(3 min · Reduction)_ ### Finish 28. Serve from the pan, or put the sauce and wedges on a warm plate, charred side up. 29. Pour the tahini sauce over the wedges in a zigzag. 30. Drain the onions. Put them on top of the wedges. 31. Add the parsley, mint and sesame seeds. 32. Sprinkle 2 g sumac over the dish. Pour on 15 ml olive oil. ## Notes ### A dry, unsalted face browns. A wet face steams. _(science)_ Salt on a cut cabbage face pulls water out in a few minutes. That water holds the surface near 100 °C, so the face steams and does not brown. Browning needs the surface above about 140 °C. Pointed cabbage holds more free sugar than white cabbage, so a dry face browns fast and deep. The weight presses the loose leaves flat against the pan. This gives an even crust instead of brown patches. Salt the faces after the sear. Conditions: cut face dry · no salt before the sear · surface above 140 °C · weight on top ### A short braise stops the sulfur smell _(science)_ Cut cabbage releases isothiocyanates, which give the sharp mustard taste. Heat stops the enzyme that makes them. Long wet cooking then breaks sulfur compounds down to dimethyl trisulfide and hydrogen sulfide. These give the smell of overcooked cabbage. Pointed cabbage has thin cell walls and becomes tender fast. Stop when the knife meets a small resistance in the core. Keep the charred faces above the liquid so the crust stays dry. Conditions: lid on · low heat · 12 min → 15 min · charred face above the liquid ### Sumac goes on cold _(science)_ Sumac is sour from malic acid. Its fruity smell comes from volatile compounds that heat drives off. So it goes on the onions and on the finished dish, and never into the pan. Sumac and red onion both hold anthocyanins. These pigments are brightest at low pH. The lemon juice drops the pH, so the onion turns bright pink. Squeezing breaks the onion cells so the acid gets in and softens the raw sulfur taste. Conditions: no heat · 15 min or longer · with lemon juice ### Origin of the dish _(research)_ The dish that went viral is by Nisha Vora, from her book Big Vegan Flavor. Her method sears cabbage wedges in a cast-iron pan, braises them in a spiced tomato sauce, then adds tahini sauce. This recipe keeps that structure. It adds harissa for heat, a brown butter baste, and sumac onions. - Source: https://plantbasednews.org/veganrecipes/dinner/buttery-charred-cabbage/ ### Chickpeas for a main with more protein _(idea)_ Add 1 drained 400 g tin of chickpeas to the sauce with the crushed tomatoes. This makes the dish a full main and adds protein. Not tried yet.