Warm rainbow cabbage salad recipe

A fresh and colourful winter salad that makes a great light lunch.

Cabbage is a classic food for anyone following a healthy diet but banish all thoughts of tasteless cabbage soup. This warm rainbow cabbage salad is the absolute opposite. It features two types of cabbage, plus fennel and carrot, all so lightly stir-fried they keep all of their taste and health benefits. It only takes 3-5 minutes to cook once the vegetables have been prepared. In fact, the whole thing is ready to eat in under 20 minutes. And at just 129 calories per portion, it's one of our best low calorie lunch ideas.

Ingredients

• 1tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced, optional
• ½ a red cabbage finely shredded (about 350g)
• ½ a sweetheart or pointed cabbage (about 250g), shredded
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
• 3tbsp pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted
• Handful of flat-leaf parsley
• For the dressing:
• 2tsp wholegrain or Dijon mustard
• Good pinch of soft light brown sugar
• 2tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 4tbsp good olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and fennel, if using, for 1-2 minutes. Add the red cabbage and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Tip into a large serving bowl. Add the raw green cabbage and carrot.
2. To make the dressing: Whisk all the ingredients together, adding some seasoning. Pour over the salad and mix in well.
3. Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds and flat-leaf parsley over the top and serve warm.

Top tips for making warm rainbow cabbage salad

To make it an entire meal in a bowl, add some toasted pecans or walnuts with thinly sliced apple or pear, or a few slivers of cold chicken or even chunks of cheese.

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