The recipe for the cabbage is adopted from Bon Appetit website. It is incredibly flavoursome and extremely easy. I usually cook it as a main vegan meal without the protein, but in this recipe I use the sauce to cook the sardines in. The quantities given are for 2 very generous portions.
For the sauce, mix in a bowl:
Tomato paste, 2 tbsp
Sugar, 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder, 1,5 tsp
Cumin powder, 1,5 tsp
Chilli flakes, 1 tsp
Garlic, minced, 1 tbsp
Ginger, grated, 1 tsp
Cut in 4 equal wedges:
Cabbage, 1/2 pc
In a hot pan that can go in the oven (i.e with a metallic handle) add a little olive oil and salt and place the wedges. Allow to brown on each side and the back. Remove wedges on a plate. In the same pan, heat the sauce, stirring with a wooden spoon for a few seconds, and add 1 cup water. Return the cabbage wedges to the pan (the sauce should be covering the wedges half-way) and place the pan in a preheated oven at 200 degrees celsius. Roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove wedges on a plate and return pan to the stove on low heat (you can stop here for a delicious vegan cabbage meal, leftovers of which can be used differently as in this recipe).
Place in the pan:
Sardine fillets, 16 pcs, "married" as we say in Greece, meaning one on top of the other in pairs, skins facing bottom and top, you should therefore have 8 couples (to get the fillets remove the head, intestines, and spine with your hands, rinse well and pat dry).
and cook for 3 minutes, flipping each couple halfway through.
Place cabbage and sardines on the plate, and pour over any remaining sauce. Garnish with:
Coriander or Parsley, finely chopped