We love Smitten Kitchen for her spot-on recipes and entertaining writing. Deb Perlman adapted this recipe from one of our favorite cookbooks, Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden, and converted us into avid cabbage fans. Cabbage is such an underappreciated vegetable, usually relegated to being a shell for cabbage rolls or shredded for slaw. But, this version has wonderful flavor and can be served as a main course. It’s the perfect balance of salty parmesan, savory roasted walnuts and tart lemon juice that makes it possible to eat the entire cabbage in one sitting… by ourselves. If you’re concerned about serving raw garlic to young kids, we tweaked this recipe minimally to mellow out the sharp raw garlic flavor. You could also use this chef’s trick to prepare the garlic instead.
Check out Smitten Kitchen for her delicious stuffed cabbage recipe that’s more traditional. Her 1st and 2nd cookbooks are worth perusing, too! We use them all the time.
PrintRoasted Cabbage with Walnuts, Lemon and Parmesan
This cabbage dish is quick to make and can work as a side or even a main. Perfect for cold weather meals and uses readily available ingredients.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: Side or Main Dish
- Method: Oven Roasted
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large (1 3/4 pounds) or two small heads of savoy cabbage
- 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
- scant 1/2 cup walnut halves and pieces
- 1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, grated and mixed with a pinch of sea salt
- 1 large lemon
- lemon zest from 1/2 the lemon
- grated parmesan, to taste
- optional: red pepper flakes, such as Aleppo
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475° F.
- Remove any damaged leaves and cut into 8 wedges.
- Grease a baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. After placing the wedges on the sheet in one layer, drizzle or brush the tops with 2 more tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and add pepper to taste.
- Roast for 2 to 4 minutes or until charred underneath. Then, flip them over individually and roast for 5 more minutes (or until the edges are dark brown).
- While the cabbage is in the oven, place nuts in a baking dish and roast them next to the cabbage for 4 to 5 minutes until they smell fragrant.
- Remove the walnuts from the oven and chop them while still hot.
- Move the chopped nuts to a bowl with the grated garlic/salt mix and lemon zest.
- Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt to the walnut mixture. If using, add the optional red pepper flakes here as well.
- Let the flavors combine in the bowl while it cools down. Right before serving, squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the bowl of walnut dressing.
- Remove the cabbage from the oven when ready. Spoon the walnut dressing mix over the cabbage as soon as you take it out. Grate parmesan all over and serve immediately while still hot.
Keywords: cabbage, vegetarian, walnuts, roasted, lemon
Make It Your Own
When you like a recipe as much as we like this roasted cabbage with walnuts and lemon, naturally you’ve made and remade it in a variety of ways. We’ve also tried all the variations Deb Perlman recommends. Sometimes, she adds chopped anchovies, chopped olives or chopped capers. She also recommends topping it with one or two fried eggs to make it a main dish and we ardently agree. We’ve also had this topped with crispy bacon and highly recommend it. Serve leftovers chopped up and tossed with avocado mayo and shredded carrots for a great slaw. Tell us how you’ve made this recipe your own!
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