Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

We have an abundance of cabbage. All kinds. And there are only so many times you can make coleslaw or braise the things. Desperate to get rid of the volleyball-sized sphere on our kitchen counter, the NY Times yet again came to our rescue. The article may as well have been titled: "When you're sick of coleslaw...".

I served these as an appetizer at a recent dinner party and they were a hit with everyone. I recommend about 2 stuffed leaves per person as a starter (always leave them wanting more!).

Ingredients 
12 large cabbage leaves (about 2 pounds)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large red or white onion, finely chopped

Salt to taste

1 1/4 cups quick-cook long-grain or basmati rice, rinsed and drained

4 tablespoons pine nuts

4 garlic cloves (to taste), minced

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup finely chopped mint

1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 to 1/2 cup strained freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 lemon, sliced

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the cabbage leaves, a few at a time, for 2 to 3 minutes, until they are flexible. Transfer from the pot to a bowl of cold water, then drain and set aside. Cut out the thickest part of the base of the center rib by notching a 1- to 1 1/2-inch V at the base. This will make the leaves easier to roll up.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large nonstick skillet and add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until it is tender but not browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the pine nuts and garlic, stir together and add the drained rinsed rice. Stir for a minute or two, until you hear the rice begin to crackle, then remove from the heat. Toss with the herbs, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, and black pepper pepper and 1 tablespoon olive oil. To gauge how much salt you will need, use the amount that you would use when cooking 1 1/4 cups of rice (I used about 1 teaspoon).

Roll the parcels with the V-shape facing you.

3. Lightly oil a heavy flame-proof or lidded skillet. Place a leaf on your work surface in front of you, with the wide ribbed bottom closest to you. Place 2 rounded tablespoons of the rice mixture on top of the leaf. Roll the leaf over once, and tuck in the sides. Continue to roll the leaf into a tight package. Place in the pan. Fill and roll the remaining leaves and pack them into the pan. You will probably need to stack two layers of the filled leaves.

4. Whisk together the lemon juice, remaining oil and tomato paste with 2 tablespoons water. Season to taste with salt. Pour over the cabbage rolls. Add enough water to barely cover the rolls. Invert a plate and place it on top of the rolls to keep them wrapped and in position. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover the pan, turn the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, at which point the cabbage leaves will be tender and the rice cooked. Remove from the heat and carefully remove the stuffed leaves from the water to a platter or to plates with a slotted spoon or tongs. Taste the liquid left in the pot and adjust the seasoning. Serve the rolls warm with the liquid from the pot as a sauce.

Yield: 6 servings.  

Red Cabbage, Orange and Date Salad

Red cabbage is one of the best winter vegetables by far. It last forever but has a wonderful earthy sweetness, perfect for a late night quick stir fry. But I find that cooks often don't know what to do with red cabbage. Besides your typical braising (which, let's not lie, is phenomenal) and the aforementioned stir fry, what's to be done with it? Yes, yes, coleslaw will work in a pinch but the loads of mayo the dish requires completely masks the glory that is the red cabbage.

Well, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall may have found the answer. In his section on the Guardian's "Best Christmas recipes" he features a salad that was so unusual in its ingredients that I simply had to try it. Who would have thought to combine raw cabbage, *grated* parsnip and orange juice for a salad? To be honest, I was dubious. But the wonderful sweet mixture of dates with the root vegetables, not to mention a healthy dose of white truffle oil and some nuts, was absolutely divine. In Hugh's recipe, he sticks to the simplicity of only the orange juice, olive oil, and thyme. But add in some walnuts or pecans, not to mention the secret weapon of truffle oil, and the dish becomes sublime.
Another bonus point?
It takes five minutes to make.
This makes the second of the glorious "raw food" salads I've stumbled onto over the years (the first being Bittman's raw butternut squash salad). And I've yet to find a reason to dislike them. Curse them for their simplicity.

Serves: 4

Ingredients
2 oranges
1/2 small red cabbage, core removed and finely shredded
3 parsnips, peeled and grated
2-3 small handful dates, chopped

2-3 handfuls of walnuts or pecans, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp white truffle oil (optional, if you don't have some lying around, just up the olive oil by a tablespoon)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Squeeze the juice from the oranges into a small bowl.

Combine the parsnips and cabbage in a large bowl. Add the dates and nuts. Trickle the olive oil and truffle oil (if using), then sprinkle the thyme leaves on top. Serve at once.

Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage

Oh, cabbage. How often I forget about you and how sad I am when I realize how delicious you are. My mother never made cabbage when I was growing up so it always takes me a minute to remember this versatile fabulous vegetable. I'm not sure why, if anything Britain is the land of cabbage. Boiled, braised, baked, you'll find it in everything. And if there's one thing they're never out of at Tesco, it's cabbage.

Which brings me to this fabulously easy recipe (again, courtesy of the New York Times' Recipes for Health section). I was slightly dubious of this dish- it seemed *too* easy, that it would taste of, well, raw cabbage.

I was so wrong. It's spicy, comforting, a perfect side dish. Heck, make enough of this and I'll eat this for my main course. It's done in literally 5 minutes and it tastes like the best kind of unhealthy Asian takeout. But it's not. It's, get this, healthy. Well, I suppose comparatively so. There's still oil (albeit a small amount), but literally, most of the delicious flavor comes from a bit of star anise, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. That's it! Simple as pie.

Ingredients
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 star anise, broken in half
2 teaspoons soy sauce (more to taste)
2 tablespoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry (I've used both, they're equally delicious)
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
1 small cabbage, 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, quartered, cored and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch shreds
1 medium carrot, cut into julienne
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons minced chives, Chinese chives or cilantro

Method

1. Combine the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and star anise in a small bowl. Combine the soy sauce and wine or sherry in another small bowl.

2. Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or a 12-inch skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in the oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and tilting it back and forth. Add the garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and star anise. Stir-fry for a few seconds, just until fragrant, then add the cabbage and carrots. Stir-fry for one to two minutes until the cabbage begins to wilt, then add the salt and wine/soy sauce mixture. Cover and cook over high heat for one minute until just wilted. Uncover and stir-fry for another 30 seconds, then stir in the chives or cilantro and remove from the heat. The cabbage should be crisp-tender. Serve with rice or noodles.

Yield: Serves four.

Roquefort and Red Cabbage Salad

Ok, so the title might be a tad misleading. Technically this salad is supposed to be made with red cabbage, which is sweet and wonderful and photographs beautifully. Sadly, the local Tesco has not stocked red cabbage in months, if not years. So, alas, white/green cabbage it was.

Now, this is not to say that this wasn't delicious. I dare you to find me any salad that isn't made infinitely better with the addition of either bacon or cheese, but still, I feel a bit of the fraud by posting a red cabbage recipe which prominently features nothing of the kind. But ah well. If you are so lucky to live in a region with the rich bounty of red cabbage, please, do partake, and think of me when you do.


Roquefort and Red (ahem, white) Cabbage Salad

Ingredients
1/4 red (or white) cabbage, central core removed, thinly sliced
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
50g caster sugar
600ml water
100g streaky bacon (normal bacon for the Americans out there), cut into 2cm dice
2 slices of white bread, cut into 1cm cubes
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 heads of chicory (endive)
1 small head of radicchio
150g Roquefort (or any blue cheese) crumbled

for the Vinaigrette 
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp walnut oil
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp walnuts, roasted and broken into chunks
salt and pepper

Method

Put the cabbage in a bowl. Bring the vinegar to the boil, add the sugar and, once dissolved, pour it over the cabbage and stir well. Boil the water and pour that over the cabbage too. Leave to soak for 5 minutes, then drain in a colander and leave to cool.

Heat a frying pan over a high heat, add the bacon and cook it until it is crisp and the fat has been released. Add the bread and fry until golden, then stir in the garlic and fry for 1 minute.
Remove from heat.
Put the red cabbage in a salad bowl with the chicory and radicchio leaves, scatter over the bacon and croutons and the Roquefort cheese.
Whisk together all the ingredients for the vinaigrette and pour it over the salad.
Toss well, adjust the seasoning and serve.

Braised Cabbage

 

In the winter, there's nothing like cabbage. And there's a sentence I never thought I'd write. It must have been the many years in England that have made me come around to the vegetable. Like most people probably, I still have a bit of an aversion to the food on principle. Too many times overcooked and bland, cabbage has had a bad rap for the past generation or so. Only recently have chefs taken the poor humble cabbage and given it a face lift. 

I've been a fan of braising vegetables since my experimentations with leeks, so this recipe was intriguing. Just enough Indian and Asian spice to make the whole thing interesting, but still, the braising brought out the inherent sweetness to the cabbage that made it a delightful side dish for the winter. 

Oh cabbage, where have you been all my life?

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds savoy cabbage
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil
2 whole cloves
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds (I used ground mustard, it worked just fine)
20 curry leaves (also relied on the powdered form here, no problems)
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons peeled, julienned fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 cup chopped fresh or canned tomato
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Kosher salt.

Method
Cut cabbage into 6 to 8 wedges, with the widest part no more than 2 inches, leaving the core intact so the wedges stay together while cooking. Place a heavy skillet, large enough to hold wedges fairly snugly, over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the cabbage, and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes a side. Transfer to a plate, and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and heat until it shimmers. Add cloves, mustard seeds, curry leaves, bay leaf, shallot and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add ginger, turmeric, 1 tablespoon jalapeño, tomato and broth. Season with salt to taste. If desired, add more jalapeño to taste.

Increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Add cabbage, fitting it tightly together in the bottom of the pot. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and braise cabbage until tender, about 10 minutes, turning it once halfway through cooking. Remove and discard cloves, curry leaves and bay leaf. If desired, serve with rice.

Yield: 3 servings