Sweetheart Cabbage Salad with Gyoza Chickpeas and Parmesan
With just 15 minutes of active cooking you can make this delicious salad that's sure to win over any salad hater. Spinach, sweetheart cabbage and the most flavorful chickpeas are topped with a good amount of Parmesan cheese to turn this salad intoa feast - healthy, delicious and easy to make.
Preheat the oven to 225C/440F and line a sheet pan with a baking sheet.
Cut the cabbage in four wedges, rinse them under water, and then place them on the sheet pan. Season with olive oil, salt and black pepper. Place in the middle of the oven and cook for about 30 minutes, until the cabbage has a nice color and the edges are kinda burned.
1 large sweetheart cabbage (approx. 1500 g/3¼ lbs), 1 teaspoon fine table salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil
Make the gyoza sauce by mixing together soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil in a bowl. Taste and adjust to your liking.
4 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce, 2 tablespoon rice vinegar, ½ teaspoon sesame oil
With 15 minutes left on the cabbage, start making the chickpeas. Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add the chickpeas. Stir often and let them roast until they're golden brown (5-10 minutes)
2.5 cups cooked chickpeas
When the chickpeas are golden brown, lower the heat to medium and add the minced garlic and the gyoza sauce you made. Mix and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Then mix in chili flakes according to taste, taste test and adjust as needed, and take off the heat.
2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon chili flakes*
When all the components are done, make the salad on a large serving platter or in individual bowls or plates. Start with spinach, followed by a wedge of sweetheart cabbage, gyoza chickpeas and shredded parmesan. Serve immediately!
4 handfuls spinach, 1 cup parmesan cheese
Video
Notes
Ingredient notes
Sweetheart cabbage can also be called pointed cabbage, hearted cabbage or hispi cabbage
Chili flakes vary in strength, so please adjust to suit your taste & the strength of your chili flakes. I use Aleppo chili, which is pretty mild.
Cooked chickpeas can be from a can or cooked at home
Ingredient substitutions & exclusions
Cabbage - you can use any type of cabbage
Chili flakes can be excluded if you don't want it spicy
Shredded parmesan cheese can be switched for shredded Pecorino cheese or crumbled Feta cheese
Olive oil can be switched for another type of vegetable oil
Garlic can be excluded
Rice vinegar can be switched for apple cider vinegar
Japanese soy sauce can be switched for a light Chinese soy sauce, tamari or liquid aminos
Spinach can be switched for another leafy green like kale
Tips & tricks
This salad is delicious as a bring-along-lunch - store the cabbage with the chickpeas, and the spinach with the Parmesan. Then heat up the cabbage and chickpeas and serve with the cold spinach and Parmesan.
Sweetheart cabbage can vary a lot in size. A large one will serve 4 people, and a small one 2. Go for around 300 g of cabbage per person.
Store the cabbage in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days
Store the chickpeas in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 5 days