Grilled kielbasa and cabbage with harissa oil, plus ember-cooked leeks
Recipes for an outdoor Memorial Day feast.
I’m just popping in with two bonus recipes for your holiday weekend—just in case it’s sunny where you live and you’ve got the urge to cook outside.
These dishes come from Diana Yen’s new book, Firepit Feast: Adventurous Recipes for Live-Fire Cooking, which offers tons of inspiration for getting more out of your backyard firepit than just toasty-warm hands and charred s’mores. (If you’re into camping or you have a charcoal grill, Diana’s book will also serve you well.)
The low-key move this weekend starts with kielbasa, cooked right on the grates alongside wedges of cabbage. It’s all dressed up after grilling with a quick mixture of harissa, lemon, honey, and olive oil. It’s unfussy but bold, with the smoky, fruity flavors of harissa enhanced by the fire.
Just keep those sausages coming; this is about a long afternoon or evening sitting around with friends, with plates on your laps and eyes on the mesmerizing flames.
Once the fire dies down, though, you’re not quite done. Firepit Feast has a full chapter on cooking with the fading coals: Diana buries a wheel of cheese in there (encased in more cabbage leaves), and foil-wrapped Japanese sweet potatoes, too.
I’ll be using the embers to try roasting leeks—softly and slowly, directly on the coals. Diana tops the leeks with ricotta, plus crunchy walnuts seasoned with anchovy, garlic, and lemon peel.
You’ll get all the details if you scroll down.
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Grilled Kielbasa and Cabbage With Harissa Oil
Excerpted with permission from Firepit Feast by Diana Yen (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2025.
Grilled sausage lovers, this one’s for you. Smoky kielbasa is paired with charred-yet-still-crisp cabbage, all drizzled with a spiced harissa oil. By cutting the cabbage through the core, you’ll create wedges that hold together nicely on the grill. Don’t be shy about showering on dill at the end—the herb brings some freshness to the plate.
SERVES 4
Neutral oil (such as canola or avocado oil), for brushing
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (90ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons harissa paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
Kosher salt
One 12-ounce (340g ) kielbasa, quartered crosswise, then halved lengthwise
1 medium head green or Savoy cabbage, cut through the core into 2-inch-thick (5cm) wedges
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (240g) sour cream
½ cup (25g) coarsely chopped fresh dill
Prepare a fire for medium-high heat, set a grate over it, and brush the grate with neutral oil.
In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the harissa, lemon juice, and honey. Season with salt.
Place the kielbasa and cabbage wedges on a sheet pan. Using your hands, toss the cabbage to coat with the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Grill the cabbage wedges and kielbasa, turning halfway through, until the cabbage is crisp-tender and slightly wilted and both are charred, 7 to 10 minutes total. Transfer back to the sheet pan. Using a basting brush, coat the cabbage and kielbasa with the harissa oil.
Place the cabbage and kielbasa on a serving platter, drizzling any remaining harissa oil over. Top with the sour cream in one big dollop and scatter with the dill to finish.
Ember-Roasted Leeks With Ricotta and Anchovy-Walnut Crunch
Excerpted with permission from Firepit Feast by Diana Yen (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2025.
Leeks have a high sugar content, which makes them ideal for caramelization and charring. Cooking them over coals until they’re blackened on the outside allows the interior to steam until they reach a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Top them off with extra umami from an anchovy-walnut crunch and dollops of creamy ricotta for contrast.
SERVES 4
4 large leeks, tough green tops and roots trimmed off
⅓ cup (40 g) toasted chopped walnuts
3 oil-packed anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves
2 strips of lemon peel
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 lemon wedges
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup (125 g) fresh ricotta
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Soak the leeks in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, gently squeezing to remove any dirt. Pat dry.
To make the anchovy-walnut crunch, place the walnuts, anchovies, garlic, lemon peels, and salt on a cutting board. Using a knife, chop the ingredients together to form a coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Prepare a wood fire or coals for cooking and allow the flames to die out completely, until you have a nice bed of hot embers.
Place the leeks directly onto the hot embers. Rotate the leeks occasionally and cook until they are deeply charred on the outside and feel soft in the centers, 15 to 20 minutes.
Once they are ready, transfer them to a board and slice in half lengthwise through the root ends. Peel away the charred outer layer and transfer cut side up to a serving plate. Squeeze the lemon wedges over the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Top with dollops of the ricotta, the anchovy-walnut crunch, and a drizzle of olive oil, and serve.
It all looks wonderful. Grilled/charred veggies are so underrated!
Charred cabbage is the most underrated vegetable dish!