Okonomiyaki

Yeah, I had no idea what that was, either. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese "pizza" that is a popular street food in Kyoto.

Luke was nursing while I was reading through food blogs (again) and I encountered this post on one of my favorite food blogs, Daily Nibbles. At first glance, a "pizza" made of cabbage and leeks sounded unpleasant at best, but after reading it through a second time it sounded intriguing. Sarah at Daily Nibbles got her recipe from 101 Cookbooks.

It didn't hurt that I'd picked up a "Good Food Box" from Seattle Tilth (more on that particular adventure later!) and it was full of cabbages, leeks, herbs, and potatoes. Perfect! So, okonomiyaki it is!

In what was probably the fastest "read-it-on-a-blog-and-prepare-it-for-dinner" turn-around time, dinner was ready.

It was really easy to make: I shredded about 4 cups of savoy cabbage (local and organic!) and tossed it with about a half cup of finely shredded leek. Then, I added about a cup of whole wheat pastry flour and a dash of salt and tossed everything together. Finally, I added 4 beaten eggs and mixed everything together with tongs.

Pour around a tablespoon of olive oil into a frying pan (I also added a kersplash of toasted sesame oil) and then place around a cup and a half of the mixture in the pan and gently flatten it like a pancake. I cooked each side over medium-low heat for about 4 minutes per side, flipping when the egg mixture set (it seemed like it would be a delicate process but the whole thing flipped quite easily).

We topped it with a dash of cayenne and some chives, and dipped it in soy sauce.

(That's Nathan's homebrewed IPA beer in the background!)

It was weirdly delicious. I'm going through a roasted brussels sprouts phase, and also hugely enjoy oven-roasted broccoli and kale, and this reminded me a lot of it. What is it with browned cruciferous vegetables that make them so darn tasty?