Cabbage wraps

 

Just noticed the name on the pan- not the best name they could have come up with.

Oh man,  you know what's tasty?  Feta.
So I have this thing for foods wrapped in vegetables... MEALS wrapped in vegetables even.  Lettuces instead of tortillas or cabbage instead of pita or???  You get the idea.  These can be made vegan by using extra apple and leaving out the cheese and serving with a salad instead of cornbread.

These are made with:

• Cabbage leaves whole
• 1 (cup after cooking) basmati rice
• 1 small potato cubed
• 1 small onion minced
• 1 small red pepper minced
• 1/2 cup ground meat or 1 cup mushrooms either - or
• 6-10 basil leaves cut chiffonade
• pinch salt and pepper
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• feta
• granny smith apple

For these little guys I wash my rice with a hot water rinse several times until the water is clear and not milky.  Cook rice and set aside with lid on.  In a skillet put minced peppers and minced onions into 1 TBSP  olive oil and cook until cellophane/translucent and meat (I used ground turkey) and brown. If you are making this with mushrooms I recommend cooking those separately and reserving the mushroom juice for either a gravy or veggie stock. Once everything is cooked set aside. Cook cubed potato until soft, then drain.

In a bowl combine 2 parts rice to your 1 potato and mush with a fork to break up the potato and work into the rice.  Then add pepper, and salt. Stir in your meat or mushroom and basil ribbons.

Now take the biggest leaves of cabbage and separate them from the head rinse them and be careful not to rip them.  Use a large pot and fill with just enough water that you can dip your cabbage leaves. Once the water is hot use tongs and dunk your leaves a couple at a time until just supple enough - not completely flimsy. Set these aside on a plate or clean surface, repeat until through all your leaves you wish to fill.

Then lay out your leaves.  Shake out the leaves to rid of water. With the curl in the leaf facing you looking like a bowl and the hard end closest to you. On the hard end put a slice of apple, a slice of feta, and a fat spoonful of prepared rice on top roll using your hands to tuck filling and slowly the leaf sides in continue to roll until the curled end cups the wrapped filling completely.  Lay your completed bounty on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Pepper cornbread is made with:

• 2/3 C Fine ground corn flour
• 2/3 C Stone ground corn flour
• 2/3 C lightly coarse corn flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 C butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 - 2/3 C half and half ( don't worry about fat... share it! )*
• 1 small red pepper minced
• 1 jalapeno minced

For cornbread preheat oven to 375.  Butter a casserole dish, sides as well.  Put flours, salt, and baking soda together and finger sift together.  Once butter is softened a bit pour sugar into it and beat until fluffy and well blended then add eggs and beat until mixed, it is alright if it looks a little lumpy.  Pour flour mix into butter mix and blend with half of your cream and fold in the peppers then if dry add the other half. * Now you CAN cut back the cream if you wish but I would NOT recommend another milk.  And worse if it is a milk replacement like soy or rice (watch out for NATURAL FLAVOR).  {coconut milk or water being the best replacement for milk in this recipe} The less fat a milk has the MORE it will break down in cooking and that is the broken protein which is addicting.  You can get wild and try water.  It will be different, but with enough salt and sugar no one will miss it too much.  This cornbread should be done at 20 minutes give it a poke test to see.  If the center is jiggly it will need about 10 minutes more.  If the center comes out a little soft like sticking to a utensil then it will need 5 minutes. As ever... always eat this when it looks best to you!

After bread is about to come out put your tray of cabbage wraps into the oven for not much more than 5-7 minutes. Just long enough to melt the feta a bit and give a nice warmth over all. Serve up!  You can garnish wish a sauce or honey.