charred cabbage and chicken peanut chop
plus a whole lot of riffs
As you all know, I love roasty, frizzly cabbage, I love kale, and I love a peanut sauce, so a salad that combines all three of those plus fresh herbs, peanuts, white cheddar, and chicken is the stuff of dreams.
I’ve been testing and tweaking this recipe for months now — grilling cabbage one night, testing the peanut vinaigrette another, trying the raw kale plus grilled cabbage combo another — and I finally put all of the puzzle pieces together this week.
It’s partly inspired by Hillstone’s emerald kale salad, partly by a charred cabbage dish that I had in New York seven years ago at a now-closed restaurant whose name I cannot remember, and partly by me throwing a bunch of leftovers together and thinking wait, white cheddar and peanut sauce are good together?!
This recipe is also a great teach a man to fish opportunity — you are not just learning how to cook one new recipe here, you are learning how to cook multiple dishes. Here are some potential ways that you could re-work this recipe into new ideas. Try my original recipe, or try one of these instead if it works better for you and your family this week!
Grilled cabbage and chicken with peanut vinaigrette // Just grill the cabbage and chicken and serve it drizzled with peanut vinaigrette! This is about a 20-minute meal. You could add some chopped peanuts and fresh herbs on top if you’re feelin’ fancy. Serve each person a full wedge of cabbage and a piece or two of chicken.
Grilled cabbage and chicken with a side salad // If you have people in your house who don’t think salad counts as a meal, deconstruct things a bit. Serve the cabbage and chicken like I describe above, but still make the kale salad, just without adding the cabbage and chicken in.
Kale salad with peanut vinaigrette // Skip grilling the chicken and cabbage — just toss the kale (get two bunches if feeding 4 to 6 people), green onions, cilantro, mint, and peanuts with peanut vinaigrette for a stellar side salad. You could toss in ramen like we did here to turn it into an Asian-inspired pasta salad of sorts. You could also grab a rotisserie chicken to add chicken without having to cook it.
Grilled cabbage with peanut vinaigrette // A fun veggie side dish: Just grill the cabbage, arrange the grilled quarters on a platter, drizzle with peanut vinaigrette and garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro.
Grilled cabbage and chicken noodles // Grill the chicken and cabbage, chop them up, then toss with 2 packs of cooked ramen plus peanut vinaigrette to your liking. Would be good hot or cold.
Charred cabbage and chicken peanut wraps // Cook the recipe as written then wrap the chopped salad in your favorite tortillas. Great for a meal on the go!
Grilled chicken with peanut sauce // FYI, my one and a half year old devoured this salad. But if you’re feeding kids who are averse to anything green, you can serve the grilled chicken with a side of the peanut dressing as dipping sauce and plate it with peanuts, shredded cheese, fruit, and/or whatever else they’ll eat.
See what I mean?! The possibilities are endless with these ingredients. Share if you try another combo!
charred cabbage and chicken peanut chop
Serves 4
Cook time: ~45 minutes
Tools:
Ingredients:
Salad:
1 head Napa or Savoy cabbage, quartered
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch kale (any kind — I prefer Tuscan, AKA lacinato, here)
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
4 scallions (AKA green onions), roots removed and discarded, white and green parts thinly sliced
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmesan or white cheddar (or a mix of both)
1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
Peanut vinaigrette:
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 heaping tablespoon honey
1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Water, as needed
Cut 1 head cabbage into four quarters by cutting it in half through the stem end, then in half again. Place on a large baking sheet. Add 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs to the same baking sheet. Drizzle all with a light coating of extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and several grinds of black pepper, and use your hands to evenly distribute the oil and spices.
Set aside (at room temperature) while you prep the rest of the salad.
Make the dressing by adding 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/3 cup toasted sesame oil, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 heaping tablespoon honey, 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard, a big pinch of kosher salt, and several grinds of pepper to a large jar and shaking to combine. (If you don’t have a jar, just whisk the ingredients together in a bowl.) It’s going to be thick! Now, add water a tiny splash at a time then shake, and repeat until you get a nice thick-but-drizzleable consistency — like a Caesar dressing. Taste and keep as is or adjust as desired — you can add more salt, more vinegar, whatever sounds/tastes good to you!
Now’s a good time to preheat the grill to 450°F.
Remove the ribs from 1 bunch of kale then chop the leaves into small pieces. Finely chop 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems and 1/2 cup mint leaves, and thinly slice 4 scallions. Add to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with a big pinch of salt and massage the greens by squeezing them in your palms 7 to 10 times, until the kale feels a bit more tender.
Add 1 cup grated Parmesan or cheddar and 1/2 cup chopped peanuts to the bowl. (Caveat: If you plan to have leftovers, don’t add the peanuts to the big bowl — add them to each individual bowl instead as they’d get soft and mushy in the fridge.)
Now your grill should be nice and hot, so head outside to grill the cabbage and chicken.
If you haven’t already, clean the grates before grilling. Grill the chicken thighs for 6 to 7 minutes per side, and the cabbage for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until lightly charred all over.
Let them cool slightly, then chop the chicken and cabbage into small pieces and add to the bowl.
Toss with your desired amount of dressing (start with half of it and, if needed, add more a little at a time until it’s dressed to your liking!).
Divide the salad into bowls and serve with a lime wedge for squeezing over top just before digging in! (This is important!)
link to printer version
Why do we massage kale? It makes it less bitter and more delicious! It also makes it easier for our bodies to break down and digest.
Why’d you write the herbs that way in the ingredient list? Wondering why I wrote “cilantro leaves and stems” but only “mint leaves?” Cilantro (and parsley and dill!) stems are tender and delicious, and when chopped up you can’t even tell they’re there. I never strip cilantro leaves off the stem — I just chop the whole thing. But mint (and basil) stems are tough and fibrous, so we have to pull the leaves off the stem and discard the stem.
What to cook when you really don’t feel like cooking: To skip the grilling step, swap the cabbage out for another head of kale and chop up a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Or, skip all the chopping and go the “grilled cabbage and chicken with peanut vinaigrette” route from the riffs section above the recipe.
Prep ahead: Chop and wash all your greens up to a day ahead of time and store them together in the fridge in an airtight container.
Love your leftovers: Leftovers will be good for up to 3 or 4 days (though the sooner you eat them the more delicious they’ll be — the kale and cabbage will get soggy over the course of a few days). Again, don’t add peanuts to the mix if you plan to have leftovers! Top each individual serving with them instead so they’re nice and crunchy.
Vegetarian: A can or two of white beans like Great Northern, navy, cannellini, or chickpeas would be delicious. Raw (just drained and rinsed) would be fine, but if you have the time, I highly recommend roasting them like we did here. If you’re roasting, go ahead and roast the cabbage at the same time so you don’t have to use both the grill and oven.
I don’t have a grill: Roast the chicken and cabbage together on that sheet pan instead. Heat the oven to 425°F, place the sheet pan on the center rack, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temp of 165°F.
Nut-free: Use Sunbutter or tahini in place of peanut butter in the dressing, and, instead of peanuts, add sunflower seeds or pepitas to the salad for crunch. If you can’t do nuts or seeds, this balsamic dressing would be delicious and you could use croutons for some crunch instead.
Dairy-free/gluten-free: Use a DF Parm or cheddar or just skip the cheese to avoid dairy. This recipe is gluten free — just double check that your Dijon mustard is GF as some brands may contain it.
Cabbage: You can skip the cabbage and use another head of kale or a crisp green like romaine. You could also grill a few heads of romaine like we did for Gaby’s grilled Caesar!
Chicken thighs/breasts: You can use bone-in chicken if that’s what you’ve got. Bone-in cooks a little slower than boneless, so add a few minutes to the cook time. Pork tenderloin would also be great here (grill it for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating it every 3 minutes), as would steak (grill time will vary based on cut, thickness, and how well done you like it to be — Google to find the right time!).
EVOO: Olive oil or a neutral oil like grapeseed, avocado, or canola
Kale: I like Tuscan/lacinato kale best for this, but curly kale works too. Arugula or a spring mix would also be great.
Cilantro + mint: These are my favorite herbs for this salad, but you can omit one and increase the other, or swap one out for basil (leaves only!).
Scallions: Grill a red or yellow onion and chop it up with the cabbage and chicken! Or add half a thinly sliced raw red onion to the salad.
Parm/cheddar: Use either one, or half and half of both. Asiago, Pecorino, or Gruyère would be great subs. If you love blue cheese, it could be good here too!
Peanuts: Sunflower seeds, pepitas, cashews, pistachios, almonds… any seed or nut would be great! Or use croutons for a nut- and seed-free crunch.
Lime: Skip it if you don’t have one.
Peanut butter: Another nut or seed butter (almond butter, Sunbutter, tahini). See the “nut-free” note above if you can’t do nuts or seeds. Or, if you only have whole nuts, you can use 1/3 cup peanuts, cashews, or almonds in place of the peanut butter, and blend it all until smooth in a blender (you’ll need to add water because it’ll be so thick).
Toasted sesame oil: Regular sesame oil, peanut oil, EVOO, or olive oil
Apple cider vinegar: Another light-colored vinegar like white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar
Honey: Maple syrup or brown sugar
Dijon: Whole grain mustard or yellow mustard
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Editor: Molly Ramsey
It depends on the size of the breast, but 5 to 7 minutes per side should be perfect! Use a meat thermometer and pull them off when they're 160f internally. They'll keep cooking off the heat to come to 165!
Caro and Molly, do we think Red Cabbage + Cashew sauce from Happy Bowls would work here?