Photo by Quentin Bacon, food styling by Suzanne Lenzer, and prop styling by Maeve Sheridan
The dressing in this grilled napa cabbage dish is my version of the one that adorns crisp green salads in Japanese restaurants — it is enticingly fresh in flavor and bright orange in color, subtly, sweet-tart with a warming zing of ginger. I am only slightly exaggerating when I say I could practically drink it. I hold back, though, because I want to ensure that I have plenty to serve with wedges of napa cabbage that are charred until crisp-tender on the grill. Pair with simply grilled fish, shrimp, or chicken.
Grilled Napa Cabbage Wedges with Carrot-Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
1 large carrot (about 7 ounces)
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger
2 medium scallions
¼ cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
¼ cup neutral oil such as avocado or canola oil
Cooking spray
1 large head napa cabbage (about 2 ½ pounds)
Directions
Peel the carrot and ginger. Coarsely chop the white and light green parts of the scallions. Reserve the dark green parts for garnish.
Grate the carrot and ginger in a food processor using the shredding disk. Switch to the chopping blade and add the chopped scallions, orange juice, vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil to the carrot and ginger in the bowl of the processor.
While processing, drizzle 3 tablespoons of the oil into the bowl until incorporated, then continue processing until the dressing is fairly smooth. It will be somewhat thick and maintain some texture from the carrot.
Spray a grill or grill pan with cooking spray, then preheat over medium-high heat. Cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters so that each piece has some of the core to keep it intact. Brush the cut sides of the cabbage with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Grill until slightly wilted and grill marks have formed, about 2 minutes per cut side. While the cabbage is cooking, finely slice the scallion greens.
Pour about 1/3 cup of the dressing onto each of the 4 serving plates, place a wedge of cabbage on top of the sauce, and garnish with the scallion greens.
Makes 4 servings
Serving size: 1 wedge cabbage and 1/3 cup dressing
Per serving: Calories 230; Total Fat 16g (Mono Fat 9.8g, Poly Fat 5.0g, Sat Fat 1.5g); Protein 4g; Carb 17g; Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 160mg
Excellent Source of: Calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K
Good Source of: Fiber
Copyright 2016 Ellie Krieger All rights reserved
