Lemon Parmesan Cabbage Salad with Grilled Chicken

Not just another boring cabbage salad!!! Inspired by a salad made famous by Karen Martini, an Australian restauranteur and chef, this is made with cabbage, peas and mint tossed with parmesan, lemon and olive oil. A bit unique yet so familiar, and topped with a simple, tasty grilled chicken to make this a complete meal. Skip the chicken and peas and you have yourself a quick every-day cabbage salad!

It’s probably totally uncool to admit this, but I always have cabbage in the fridge. This only started once I “grew up” and realised a) how versatile cabbage is b) how quick it is to shred (e.g. compared to carrot) and c) how long it lasts in the fridge (weeks and weeks and weeks!). Then it became a part of my regular shop.

I bet I could blast off 10 quick uses for cabbage without barely taking a breath. Let’s try:

1. Stir Fries (use my Chinese Stir Fry Sauce to make a Cabbage Stir Fry, add garlic and/or ginger, or add chicken and other veggies to make a complete stir fry! And don’t forget CHOW MEIN!);

2. Coleslaw, Asian shredded salads (e.g. Chinese Chicken Salad)

3. Soups! Shredded or chopped, Western and Asian ones (terrific to add greens into Chinese Noodle Soup);

4. Sautéed cabbage with garlic and olive oil. Or add parmesan (so good, I make this often, super quick side);

5. Adding veggies and bulk to omelettes (I do this often too);

6. Into vegetarian casseroles and lasagnes – again, fantastic for adding healthy bulk because it melds well with other veggies and into sauces;

7. Pickled (here’s a quick one used as a side in my Fish Tacos);

8. Adding hidden veggies into things like Bolognese, Homemade Hamburger Helper and similar;

9. Wontons, Gyoza (Japanese dumplings!); and

10. Adding veggies into one pot rice dishes, like this every popular Baked Chicken and Rice.

OK, I did take a breath writing all that out, but you know what I mean. They just rolled right off my tongue. I mean, my keyboard. 😉

So for all those for whom cabbage is also a pantry staple – and if parmesan is also a staple – then there is every possibility you have everything you need to make this Lemon Parmesan Cabbage Salad. With chicken – if chicken is also a freezer staple!

I know the combination of peas and cabbage may sound a bit unique, but it is truly a fantastic combination. Think – crunchy fresh cabbage dressed with a lemon dressing with oomph from parmesan, combined with sweet pops of peas and a touch of freshness from mint.

Mint + peas are best mates, lemon and parmesan are friends with everyone.

So even if you have not tried the combination of cabbage, peas, mint, lemon and parmesan before, can you imagine that it is just so right??

This is not a salad combination I came up with myself. I think it was first made popular by Karen Martini, a popular Australian chef and restauranteur. The restaurant version uses loads more oil, and she has chilli in hers. And it’s absolutely terrific.

This is my home version that I’ve adapted to my taste (using much less oil!), adding a simple lemon marinated grilled chicken to make it a complete meal. Though actually, I make just the cabbage salad without the chicken more often because I always have the ingredients on hand.

Oh – and the other benefit is that the dressing isn’t made in a separate jar, it’s just drizzled right on the salad then tossed. Nice for lazy salads.

Oh – and another little tip. Yes, this is better made with freshly grated parmesan because it kind of dissolves into the salad. But it is still super tasty made with store bought grated parmesan, it just won’t dissolve fully. 🙂

Tell me – is it really uncool that I have cabbage in my fridge at all times?? – Nagi xx

PS Not that I mind being a dag. I’ll still be popping cabbage into my trolley every week!!!

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Lemon Parmesan Cabbage Salad with Grilled Chicken

Author: Nagi

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Total: 20 mins

5 from 17 votes

Servings3

Tap or hover to scale

Print

• 194
• 2517

A terrific cabbage salad tossed with a parmesan and lemon dressing, sweet pops of peas, subtle freshness from mint and topped with a simple, super tasty marinated chicken. Something a bit different, yet still so familiar! Skip the chicken for a super tasty cabbage salad. MARINATING TIME: 30 minutes minimum

Ingredients

Grilled Chicken:

• ▢ 2 small chicken breasts (150g/5oz each), 2 cm / 4/5" thick (or 1 large, cut in half horizontally)
• ▢ 1/4 cup soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tsp dried oregano
• ▢ 1 garlic clove , minced
• ▢ Black pepper
• ▢ 2 tsp olive oil

Cabbage Salad:

• ▢ 5 heaped cups shredded green cabbage
• ▢ 1/2 red onion , finely sliced
• ▢ 1 cup peas (fresh is always best, but I usually use frozen)
• ▢ 1 cup fresh mint leaves (lightly packed)
• ▢ 100 g / 3.5 oz freshly grated parmesan (about 1 heaped cup) (Note 2)
• ▢ 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 1/4 cup / 60 ml extra virgin olive oil (good quality counts here!)
• ▢ Black pepper

Instructions

• If the chicken is much thicker than 2cm / 4/5", pound lightly or cut in half horizontally.
• Place the Grilled Chicken ingredients in a ziplock bag and set aside for 30 minutes to overnight.
• Use the oil to brush the grill, or heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook the chicken for 4 minutes on each side, then remove onto a plate. Cover loosely with foil, rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly.
• Cook the peas in boiling water (or steam), drain then rinse under cold tap water to cool down.
• Place cabbage, peas, mint and onion in a bowl. Add parmesan, lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper.
• Toss well. Adjust salt to taste, add more parmesan if desired.
• Transfer to serving plates, top with chicken. Garnish with more parmesan and black pepper, then serve.

Recipe Notes:

1. I use soy sauce for the chicken marinade because it's a good brining shortcut - adds salt to the chicken as well as flavour.

2. This recipe is best made with freshly grated parmesan because it mostly dissolves when tossed. But it can be made with store bought too, it just probably won't fully dissolve. Start with 3/4 cup then adjust to taste (store bought grated parmesan is more dense than freshly grated so 3/4 cup is about 1 cup freshly grated).

3. Inspired by this Cabbage Salad by Karen Martini, an Australian Chef and Restauranteur, from her restaurant Mr Wolf in St Kilda, Melbourne.

4. This recipe makes 2 generous servings (e.g. a meal without bread or similar on the side) or 3 normal servings. If you want to reduce the calories, you can reduce the parmesan cheese but I would add a sprinkle of sugar (yes really) to take the edge off the lemon. Otherwise it's just too tart (at least, for my taste).

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 395gCalories: 616cal (31%)

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Lemon Parmesan Cabbage Salad with Grilled Chicken recipe video! Note: The recipe is scaled down a bit in the video because I couldn’t locate my usual large salad bowl. 🙂

LIFE OF DOZER

I’m guessing he is lusting after the chicken. Not the cabbage? Just a wild guess.

SaveSave