1Crush about a tablespoon and a half of whole peppercorns with a mortar and pestle until cracked open, not powdered.
2Cut one head of medium cabbage in half, remove the core, and shave it very thinly to resemble long strands of pasta.
3Place the cracked peppercorns in the bottom of a big Dutch oven over medium heat and toast for about 5 minutes until they smell nutty, being careful not to burn them.
4Add about a 1/4 cup of good quality olive oil to the Dutch oven, followed by 3-4 tablespoons of butter, and let the pepper sizzle for about a minute.
5Add all the thinly shaved cabbage to the Dutch oven.
6Sprinkle the cabbage with salt.
7Put the lid on the Dutch oven and cook the cabbage for about 10 minutes until it wilts down nicely.
8Toss the cabbage to ensure it is coated nicely in the olive oil, butter, and peppercorns.
9Take the lid off, turn off the heat, and give it a good stir.
10Stir in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of freshly grated pecorino romano cheese.
Ingredients
1.5 tablespoon whole peppercorns
1 head medium cabbage
0.25 cup good quality olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
salt
0.5 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
Equipment
mortar and pestleknifeDutch oven
Tips
Use whole peppercorns and crack them, don't grind to a powder.
Shave the cabbage very thinly to resemble pasta.
Toast peppercorns on medium heat until nutty, don't burn.
Covering the cabbage to cook it down is called sweating the cabbage.