When Mike, who is a through and through meat and potatoes Texan, says the cabbage was his favorite part of a meal, you gotta try the recipe.

We recently had lunch at Hiyu Wine Farm in Hood River, Oregon. Hiyu is a 30-acre biodynamic farm and lunch was the freshest selection from their garden. We were instantly obsessed and are now on a mission to recreate as many of the vegetable dishes we had that day.

First up, our favorite. Yes, Mike and I both loved the seared cabbage with tahini the most. Who would have thought? It was so simple, but so. so. so. good.

Summer in Austin is HOT, so we are trying to grill outside and save our apartment oven as much as possible. Like the good Texans we are, we adapted Hiyu’s thin seared cabbage for thicker cuts that we could grill. It’s also less than $2 for a whole cabbage at HEB which completely blew my mind.

The star of show is the tahini sauce. TBH sauce is always the star. I always thought sauces were a pain in the ass to make, so I never tried until one day, we found ourselves in dire need of a grilled cheese and had no butter or mayo. After a bit of googling, I learned how easy it was to make mayo and it led me to the wide world of sauces. You’ll need two things for easy peasy sauces: a tall, skinny glass jar and a handheld blender. Game. Changer. No whisking, ready to store, ready to serve. Game. Changer.

TAHINI SAUCE

• 4 medium-to-large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ½ cup tahini
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• Pinch of ground cumin
• 6 tablespoons ice water, more as needed

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, combine the garlic and lemon juice. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes, to give the garlic time to infuse the lemon juice with flavor.
2. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a tall glass jar. Press the garlic solids with a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the garlic or save for another dish if you’re a sociopath like me.
3. Add the tahini, salt and cumin to the jar. Using a hand blender, mix until thoroughly blended.
4. Add water 2 tablespoons at a time, blending after each addition until smooth. (It may seize up, don’t worry.) After about 6 tablespoons, you will have a perfectly creamy and smooth, light-colored tahini sauce.
5. If desired, thin with additional water for a more drizzly sauce. Adjust if necessary—if you’d like more tang, add more lemon, or for more overall flavor, add another pinch of salt. Your tahini sauce is ready! Pop a lid on it and throw it in the fridge to chill until cabbage time.

GRILLED CABBAGE STEAK

• 1 large head of cabbage, cut into ½”-thick rounds
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Pinch of kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat grill over medium-high heat. Brush cabbage steaks on both sides with oil and season with salt.
2. Place cabbage on grill and cook until tender, about 5 minutes per side.
3. You can also finish cabbage in the oven – about 400 degrees, on a cookie sheet.