Early cabbage is one of Risto Mikkola’s summer favorites. It gets even better on the grill.
Grilled early cabbage and scampi. Photo: Roni Lehti
Pippuri.fi’s chef Risto Mikkola laughs that now Arje’s luxury kitchen is cooking his second summer favorite or is it already his third or fourth favorite. There are plenty of delicacies in the summer.
– But early cabbage is so damn good that it doesn’t make any sense, Mikkola shakes.
He praises that early cabbage is really simple to prepare. You don’t have to do much to it. The taste of summer comes as soon as you taste cabbage, and grilling only intensifies it.
Early cabbage is good just as it is, or you can cut it, for example, into a salad. If you grill early cabbage, you only need to remove the outer leaves and cut the cabbage into four or six parts. It is important that there is a stem in each block so that the pieces of cabbage stay together.
Mikkola soaks the cabbage pieces in boiling water seasoned with salt for about a minute. The color of the cabbage changes to a slightly darker green already in that time. This way you can cook the pieces of cabbage from the inside as well. Grilling takes more color and adds flavor.
Before grilling, brush a little oil on the surface of the cabbage and sprinkle salt on the surface.
– Grilling is done over high heat, which gives the cabbage a good dark surface, advises Mikkola.
This time, Mikkola seasons the cabbage with Japanese-inspired miso butter, which according to the chef has a great umami taste.
An easy Asian broth is also made for the cucumber. If you sometimes want a change from traditional grandma’s cucumbers, try these soy cucumbers.
Mikkola believes that Finns will gradually start to discover early cabbage.
– It is versatile, easy, fast and delicious. Besides, the cabbage looks good. You don’t always have to have potatoes or rice on your plate, cabbage is fine on its own.
Mikkola reminds us that grilling is not something to be rushed, and you shouldn’t be in a hurry when grilling. Then the end result is only black and burnt.
– If you keep pressing the buttons in the southeast, it will look like that too.
Mikkola mostly grills with charcoal. He advises that you should only put the coals on one side of the ball grill, so that the cooked ingredients can still be placed in the indirect heat.
Grilled early cabbage
1 early cabbage
100 g of miso butter
1. Cut the cabbage into six parts. Make sure you cut the cabbage so that there is a stem in each part. It holds the block together.
2. Blanch the cabbage blocks in boiling salted water for 1 minute. Grease the pieces of cabbage with miso butter.
3. Grill the cabbage chunks over moderate heat and turn often. Spread the miso-butter melt on the tops of the cabbage while grilling.
24 peeled raw scampi i.e. giant prawn tails
50 g of miso butter
1 teaspoon of salt
1. Put the scampi on skewers. Season them lightly with salt and grease with cooking oil.
2. Grill the skewers for 2 minutes per side and brush them with miso butter at the same time.
Miso butter
0.5 dl miso paste
100 g of butter
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 dl chopped spring onion
0.5 dl sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of ginger, chopped
1. Mix the ingredients and leave to season for 1 hour.
Mayonnaise
2 dl mayonnaise (e.g. Hellmann’s)
0.5 dl lime juice
1. Mix the ingredients and let it season for 30 minutes.
Soy cucumbers
1 fresh cucumber, thinly sliced
1 dl sushi vinegar (e.g. Kikkoman)
0.5 dl of soy
1. Mix the ingredients and let it season for 30 minutes.
Wine recommendation: Raimat Castell Chardonnay Organic, Spain (€11.99)
The specialty of the personal organic Chardonnay is grapes collected at three different stages of maturity, each of which brings its own aromas to the wine. The result is an intensely fruity and clean white wine.
In its ripe citrusy and balanced sour taste, you can sense, among other things, yellow plum and apricot. Wine is an excellent choice for, for example, fried fish, rich-flavored shellfish and light meat.
Freeze with a rolling pin
If there is any miso butter left over, roll it with baking paper or plastic wrap and put it in the freezer. Store the remaining butter in the freezer rather than the refrigerator.