Spicy and Sour Grilled Cabbage with Chopped Peanut Vinaigrette

This recipe was originally published in the award-winning cookbook The Cook You Want to Be by Andy Baraghani (Lorena Jones Books, 2022). Reprinted here with permission.

You can purchase The Cook You Want to Be here

Ingredients:

• 1 small head purple or green cabbage
• 6 scallions
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as grapeseed), plus ¼ cup
• Kosher salt
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 habanero, fresno, or serrano chile, halved, seeded, and finely chopped
• ¾ cup toasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• ⅓ cup coarsely chopped mint
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice

Method:

1. Preheat the grill to the medium
2. Remove any floppy leaves from the cabbage. Quarter the cabbage through the core. Put the cabbage and scallions on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with the 3 tablespoons of neutral oil. Season with salt and, using tongs, toss them around to get nicely coated.
3. Transfer the cabbage to the grill and cook until all sides are deeply charred (pretty much blackened), 8 to 10 minutes per side and about 25 minutes total. Throw the scallions on the grill during the last 2 minutes and let them cook, turning often, until tender and charred in spots. Transfer the cabbage and scallions back to the baking sheet.
4. Finely chop the scallions, scoop up the pieces, and place them in a large bowl. Add the garlic, chile, most of the peanuts (save a small handful to sprinkle on top), the mint, lime zest, lime juice, and remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Season with salt and give it a taste. It should taste exactly like its name—spicy and sour—with some crunch to it.
5. Coarsely chop the cabbage and throw it into the bowl with the dressing. Season with a big pinch of salt (cabbage can take a lot) and use your hands to toss and scrunch the cabbage a few times so it really soaks up the dressing. Serve as-is in the bowl or transfer to a pretty platter, sprinkle the remaining peanuts over, and wait for people to start asking, “Oh, what’s that?!”

Note: Want to Skip Grilling? Although it’s an entirely different experience, this salad can be made using raw cabbage and scallions. Thinly slice the cabbage as you would for slaw and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt (taste and adjust with more salt after you add the dressing). Use your hands to squish the leaves, as if you were giving a rather hard massage, to soften them a bit. Napa cabbage would also work here but, because it has a softer texture, keep the leaves in bigger pieces.