Red cabbage is a nutritious and seasonal vegetable which you can cook in all manner of ways and partner with meat, fish and other vegetables. As such it makes sense to master a variety of ways to cook it. Here I roast the cabbage to tenderise it and bring out the sugars in it. The accompanying Middle Eastern dressing of dried herbs, za’tar, complements the tang of the fresh goat's curd wonderfully.

Roasted red cabbage, figs with goat's curd and za’tar

Serves 4

1 red cabbage

150ml olive oil

20g oregano

20g marjoram

20g sumac

10g ground cumin

50ml sherry vinegar

30g sesame seeds

300g goat's curd

4 figs

10g mint

Set the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.

Start by cutting the red cabbage into eight equal wedges. Brush them with 50ml of the olive oil and place in a deep baking tray, seasoning generously with salt. Now wrap the tray in tinfoil and place it in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the cabbage is tender.

While the cabbage is roasting make the za’tar. Blend the oregano, marjoram, sumac, cumin and sesame seeds in a food processor until very fine, then season well with salt.

Once the cabbage is cooked remove the tray from the oven and add the sherry vinegar, za’tar and the remaining olive oil to the tray to form a dressing.

Place the cabbage wedges on a serving plate and spoon some goat's curd over the top. Quarter the figs and add them to the serving dish.

Spoon the dressing over the top and finish the dish with fresh mint leaves. Serve warm.