Warm Napa cabbage with walnuts
Cool weather fall salad series
I’ve posted a few recipes about Napa cabbage because I love it. I love all kinds of cabbage cooked in almost any kind of way. Cabbage is fall like squash, apples, baked beans, orange leaves on the trees, steam rising off the lake. I love it braised with onions and apples, red cabbage with cider vinegar like my Tante Nati makes (or does she buy it?) Cabbage with raisins and tomato sauce cooked all afternoon….So many variations.
This recipe is a quick and lovely addition to your dinner especially now with the cooler weather settling in and heavier salads are welcome. Napa cabbage is widely used in East Asian cuisine, it’s great as a stir fry, and it’s delicious substituted for caesar salad. This recipe is my version of a warm Italian radicchio salad.
I find radicchio difficult to find where I live and when I do find it, it’s expensive so I use it sparingly. I might substitute red cabbage outer leaves for radicchio and pretend that it is a radicchio salad and slice the leaves like ribbons but I only used the red cabbage as a garnish for the Napa cabbage to give the end result some colour.
Napa cabbage is always available here and I appreciate the mild flavour in comparison to the radicchio which is slightly bitter. It’s also high in nutritional value containing antioxidants that all cabbages have. I always keep a head of napa cabbage in the fridge and add a few raw leaves into my salads.
This version of the warm Italian salad, I leave the cabbage leaves long, searing them quickly in hot oil. I like to add a few leaves of radicchio in for colour. I finish the salad on a platter with a delicious dressing of balsamic vinegar and honey. I top the cabbage leaves with any combination of grated parmesan, toasted walnuts and slices of pear.
Walnuts are one of those super foods which I love but not everyone in my family does. They are according to the University of California (Davis) the best plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is beneficial for heart health. Omega-3s we know help with lowering cholesterol, improving cardio vascular health, inflammation… The list is long. Walnuts are my go-to to sprinkle on salads, top on squash, have as a snack with yogourt and maple syrup. Yum.
Recipe
Warm Napa Cabbage Salad with walnuts.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
6-8 leaves Napa cabbage
1 shallot thinly sliced
3 leaves radicchio or 2 large red cabbage leaves sliced into lengths
¼ cup walnut pieces coarsely chopped
½ cup parmesan cheese finely grated
1 pear sliced
Coarse salt and pepper
For the dressing
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper
Remove 6-8 leaves of the Napa cabbage. Cut off about ⅛ of a centimeter of the bottom of each leaf. Slice each leave in half lengthwise or if the leaves are very large, in quarters. Set aside.
Toast the walnuts on medium heat in a cast iron skillet just until fragrant, approximately 3 - 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
In the same cast iron skillet heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Add the red cabbage leaves in or the radicchio and sear until wilted - about 2 minutes. Remove to a platter
Heat the cast iron pan again and add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Add in the shallot and move around the pan until soft - being careful not to brown. About 1 minute.
Add in the cabbage leaves and gently with a spatula turn them over in the oil quickly to wilt - about 3 minutes. Add in the dressing and fold the leaves in with the vinegar mixture just until coated and the dressing is heated through.
Arrange on a platter together with the red cabbage or radicchio.
Sprinkle with coarse salt.
Top with grated parmesan cheese and layer on top slices of pear finishing with the toasted walnuts.
Serve immediately.