charred salt and vinegar cabbage

Do you have a big, neglected cabbage in your fridge awaiting the right inspiration? I had a feeling you did. The way I figure it, the sidewalks are currently covered in pink and white petal confetti, the ramps are here, and the asparagus is close, thus I’m crossing my fingers that this can be our last hurrah with heavy winter vegetables until at least November. We’re going to make it a good one. The origin of this recipe is, as you might have guessed, the godlike invention known as salt-and-vinegar potato chips. When developing this recipe, I first used this method to imbue thick potato slices with vinegar and salt. Later, on a whim, I added chunks of cabbage, just to see if they, too, appreciated a vinegar roast/braise, and what happened next was that we neglected all of the potatoes to eat the cabbage. I, too, was flabbergasted. The potatoes were good! But the cabbage was better, way better. It stole the show. So I made it again with just cabbage, and, look, I am not going to try to convince you that you’re going to like chunks of charred-edged cabbage with some chiplike flakes braised in vinegar with soft cloves of garlic and pats of butter, if you are skeptical about these things. I know it’s not for everyone. But if it’s for you, and I bet you know already whether it is, you are in for one of my favorite ways to roast cabbage. It’s going to seem too charred, too vinegary, too vegetal when you first pull it from the oven, but the pan will not make it to the table intact.