Recipe: Slightly Different Stuffed Cabbage

Calliope’s Slightly Different Stuffed Cabbage
recipelink.com Chat Room Recipe Swap - 2001-09-06
From: calliope,.NY

Stuff with cooked bulgur, (make the amount on the box-back...for 6 servings). ground toasted pine nuts, brazil nuts or almonds, (I use walnuts, 1-1/2 cups toasted and ground course ) and some chopped prunes (I used 12-14, whole prunes I removed the pit from and then minced them ) or use currants, 1-2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, nutmeg or allspice, some cayenne, a few dashes of clove, some Worcestershire sauce or A-1, other herbs of choice like thyme, marjoram and dill, you could even try some mint I use it and like it a lot, (eggs are not necessary but if you like, add 1-2 beaten eggs), some lemon zest and one, medium-large yellow or red onion, minced.

Buy a large regular cabbage, (or use a Savoy cabbage or even a red one) core it the best you can, plunge into a large pot of boiling salted water...boil at least 8 minutes before you begin to remove the leaves as they become soft with a set of tongs. Drain each leaf and cut a “V” shaped piece of the tough rib out of the base, pat dry and lay flat on a plate. Double wrap large meatball-sized amounts of the filling, first in a small leaf and then again in a larger leaf so they are completely enclosed. Place seam side down in the baking dish.

Cook the stuffed cabbages in 1-cup chicken or vegetable stock with 1/2-cup white wine and a bit of lemon juice with a grating of nutmeg and some fresh cracked black pepper over the top for 1 hour at 375, covered with foil, in a glass lasagna pan.

Serve with sour cream and mashed home made cranberry sauce made with brown sugar, thinned with orange juice and enhanced with grated lemon peel.
You might also like to melt a slice of Jarlsburg Swiss cheese over the top of each roll just before serving.

Or you could cook them in tomato sauce with a bit of brown sugar and serve with sour cream only, but I prefer the version above.

I like to serve this dish with carrots that have been steamed and then drizzled with butter and lemon juice, adding chopped fresh parsley and black pepper.