These cabbage wedges are easy to make, reheat nicely, and, while they’re delicious on their own, they also serve well as a platform for all kinds of sauces, from brown butter to blue cheese dressing—scroll down for ideas. You can make these on a “real” grill outside when the weather is nice enough, but they turn out just fine in a grill pan, on a griddle, or even in a cast iron pan. The only key is a hot surface and not moving the cabbage as it cooks.

Serves 4 to 8

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time 20 minutes

Heat a grill, grill pan, griddle, or cast iron pan until hot. While it heats, prepare the cabbage: remove and discard any damaged exterior leave, trim the stem end but don’t cut out the core, and cut the cabbage into 8 even wedges, making sure each gets a section of the core to help hold it together. If you end up with a wedge without enough core to hold it together, use a metal skewer to hold it together.

Brush the cabbage wedges on both cut sides with the butter or oil and sprinkle with salt. Set the wedges, cut-side down, on the hot surface and cook, without moving, until a char forms and the tender gets a bit tender, about 10 minutes. Turn the wedges so the other cut side is down and cook until that side is also charred, about 10 more minutes.

Serve hot or warm.

Variations:

Brown it. Melt 2 to 3 tablespoons butter in a small frying pan. Once melted, keep cooking, stirring or swirling the pan frequently, until the butter turns a nutty brown—pour the butter over the charred cabbage wedges.

The power of ranch. Whisk together 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 minced clove garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and a couple stems of roughly chopped fresh dill. Taste and add more salt or a spritz of lemon, if you like. Pour over the wedges or serve alongside for people to add themselves.

So blue. Smash a few tablespoons of blue cheese in a small bowl. When it’s sort of smooth, whisk in a similar amount each of sour cream and mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and/or white wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the wedges.

Bacon! Chop 2 or 3 slices of bacon, cook the pieces, and transfer directly to top the cabbage wedges, letting the bit of fat that clings to the pieces seep inbetween the cabbage leaves.