Warm Cabbage Wedges with Creamy Toasted Walnut Dressing
When I was in medical school, I used to pride myself on being able to turn a head of cabbage into a meal that I was actually excited to eat. I didn’t have much money for groceries, or any time to cook, but there was always a head of cabbage rolling around in my crisper drawer. The most splattered cookbook in my kitchen was Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, and so I’d slice my cabbage into slivers and sauté it in a skillet with a whole stick of butter just like Julia would. (Butter, as I recall, was cheap back then.)
Nowadays, I don’t add butter to my dishes as liberally. (That’s because foods rich in saturated fat, like butter and cheese, are enjoyed in smaller amounts in a brain-healthy diet as defined by the MIND diet study.) But I wanted to recreate a side dish using cabbage with the same luxurious feeling of the one I used to bathe in butter. I achieved this by cutting a cabbage into wedges, drizzling with a generous glug of extra-virgin olive oil (a brain-friendlier fat than butter), and roasting until brown on the outside and soft on the inside, and even, dare I say, buttery? So even if you don’t love cabbage, like I do, I hope to win you over with this roasted take on the classic Waldorf salad, made much more delicious—and brain-healthy.
Brassicas are brain health MVPs
When it comes to brain-healthy eating, cabbage is a key vegetable to keep in your crisper drawer. Red, green, Savoy, Napa—all of these cabbage varieties are a good bang for your buck, last a long time, and can be roasted, braised, sautéed, or eaten raw. In my Warm Cabbage Wedges recipe, I nestle slices of apple between the cabbage, but this is a great dish for using up other pieces of produce in the fridge that have seen better days—like parsnips or onions.
All the vegetables in the Brassica family—such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, and kale—are brain health MVPs. Besides fiber, protein, and folic acid, they provide a class of compounds called sulforaphanes. These sulfur-rich phytonutrients have been studied for their ability to reduce inflammation, work synergistically with chemotherapeutics against cancer, and stabilize blood sugar in persons with diabetes. In animal studies, these sulforaphanes have been shown to calm neuroinflammation and reduce the deposition of amyloid protein in the brain. While the ideal studies of how sulforaphane-rich vegetables impact the brain have not been done, Brassicas are a key aspect in many dietary patterns throughout the world that are associated with longevity, such as those from the Mediterranean and Blue Zones.
Walnuts star in the easy toasty dressing
Just like my cabbage meals of the past, this dish is super simple. Instead of slicing the cabbage into shreds, you cut it into 1-inch wedges, then roast the wedges with apples on a rimmed sheet pan. It’s meant to be easy, so you can even serve it right from the sheet pan drizzled with the toasted walnut dressing—my new favorite creamy sauce of walnuts, extra-virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup and garlic.
Make it your own cabbage wedge
As with all my recipes, I want to encourage you to make it your own. Since each of the Brassicas mentioned above come with its own spectrum of phytonutrients, not to mention colors and flavors, I recommend switching it up after the first run. Another combination I love is radicchio and green cabbage wedges. While radicchio isn’t in the same family as cabbage but rather a type of chicory, it’s similar structure lends itself well to this dish. The bitter red radicchio mellows as it roasts, and creates a nice contrast with the slightly sweet dressing.
For another brain-healthy spin on the Waldorf salad, you may also like this Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Apple, and Greens Salad.
Servings |
as a side
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- 1 medium head green cabbage or half of one green and one red cabbage, outerremoved and cut into 1-inch wedges, about ¾ pound
- 1 large apple such as a Honeycrisp, Braeburn or Jonagold, sliced ¼-inch thick
- 1 red or yellow onion sliced ¼-inch thick
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
- ½ cup pomegranate arils optional
- handful fresh Italian parsley leaves torn
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1 medium clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- up to ¾ cup water
Ingredients
For the Wedges
For the Creamy Toasted Walnut Sauce
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- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
- Combine the toasted walnuts, garlic, oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and salt in a blender. Blend on high, pouring just enough water slowly through the top of the blender to create a smooth sauce. Set aside.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400ºF. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with a few drops of the oil, then arrange the cabbage wedges with the apple and onion slices nestled between them. Drizzle with the remaining oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, or until the cabbage is brown around the edges and you can easily pierce a wedge with a knife. The apples should be crisp on the edges, too.
- To serve, dollop the walnut dressing over the cabbage, apples, and onions, then scatter the pomegranate arils and parsley over top. Serve warm or at room temperature, right from the sheet pan, with more salt and pepper if you like. (Transfer leftover dressing to an airtight jar and refrigerate for up to one week.)
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