Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage is a wonderful vegetable whose versatility goes way beyond the seasonal favorite, corned beef and cabbage.  It's great cooked in soups and stews as well as raw in a wide variety of slaws and salads.  One of my personal favorites is simply steaming wedges of cabbage and serving them with plenty of butter, salt, and pepper.

Raw heads of cabbage can be stored for long periods; and cabbage pickles easily, too.  With little more than cabbage and salt, you can make a tasty sauerkraut that will keep in the fridge for about 6 months (see recipe from 4-20-12, spices optional).

Today's recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls is an old family favorite that I've modified slightly over the years.  Though there are several steps, it's not difficult.  And you'll end up with enough to serve a hungry family.  Leftovers keep well in the fridge for about 3 days, or you can freeze stuffed cabbage rolls (after cooking them) for 3-6 months.

I like to use my own, home-made Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce (see recipe from 9-24-10).  I keep quarts of it in the freezer.  But if you don't have any sauce of your own, canned tomato sauce is fine, though you may want to adjust the seasoning a bit.

For 12-16 rolls:

12-16 cabbage leaves, removed from the head*
1 t olive oil
2 small carrots, finely chopped
1/4 small onion, finely chopped
1 lb. ground beef
1 C cooked rice
1 egg
1/2 t salt, or to taste
1/4 t pepper, or to taste
1-1/2 C Slow Cooked Tomato Sauce + 1/2 C water OR 2 C canned tomato sauce

1.  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Steam the cabbage leaves with a little water in a covered pot or vegetable steamer until the leaves are pliable, but not soggy.  Remove the leaves to a colander and set aside.

3.  In a small skillet, heat the oil and saute the finely chopped carrots and onions over low heat until just barely soft.  Turn off heat and set aside.

4.  In a bowl, mix together the ground beef, cooked rice, egg, salt, pepper, and sauteed onions and carrots until well combined.  You can do this with your hands, if you like.

5.  Test the seasoning of the meat mixture by making a tiny patty with a teaspoon of filling and cooking it (on both side) in a skillet (I use the same skillet that I cooked the carrots and onions in).  Add more salt and pepper to the meat mixture if necessary.**

6.  To assemble the cabbage rolls:  Working with one wilted leaf at a time, place a few tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of the leaf.  Fold the sides of the leaf into the center, then roll up the leaf.  Place each rolled leaf in a non-reactive baking dish with a cover.***  Repeat with remaining cabbage leaves and meat mixture.

7.  If you're using a thick tomato sauce like the Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce, you may need to thin it a bit with water:  Place the tomato sauce and water in a medium bowl and whisk together until well-combined.  If you're using canned tomato sauce you probably don't need the water, but taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar, or herbs, as desired.

8.  Pour 2 C tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls in the baking dish, spreading it evenly.  Cover and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 1-1/2 hrs or until the sauce is bubbling and the meat is cooked through.  Serve hot or cool and refrigerate for later use.  Re-heat before serving.

*Save the rest of the cabbage foe another use, like cole slaw.
**Feel free to add other seasonings if you like.  Hot red pepper gives this dish a spicy zing.  A little paprika is another nice addition.
***I like to use a glass baking dish or a baking dish with a glass cover so I can see what's going on inside, but any covered baking dish will do, as long as it's deep enough to hold the cabbage and the sauce snugly   If you don't have a covered baking dish, you can use any non-reactive baking dish and cover it with foil.

Friday's bounty included:

From Ranch Santa Cecilia:  Murcott tangerines;

From Jimenez Family Farms:  Broccoli, arugula, broccoli rabe, carrots, cabbage, spinach, butternut squash, and yellow onions; and

From County Line Harvest South:  Green bor kale, lettuce, baby beets, and spring onions.

By the way, fresh cabbage comes in several colors.  Here's a photo of a stunning head of red cabbage from a friend's garden.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Sauerkraut

Today's recipe has been several weeks in the making. Sauerkraut is cabbage fermented in brine made with salt and cabbage's own juices. Fermentation is a natural process that results from encouraging desirable bacteria to grow in foods.

Sauerkraut is made by encouraging the growth of naturally occurring lactic acid-producing bacteria. The bacteria consume the sugars in cabbage and produce lactic acid which causes delicious changes in taste, texture, and appearance.

These bacteria are anaerobic, which means they prefer an environment free of oxygen, so it's important to keep the chopped or shredded cabbage submerged during the fermentation. Strands of shredded cabbage exposed to air are good vehicles for introducing undesirable bacteria into the mix resulting in a product with off flavors.

Sauerkraut can be made in many different types of containers. Ceramic crocks are traditional. However, a large glass jar, such as a two-quart, wide-mouth canning jar allows you to observe the changes in the cabbage over time. Food grade plastic or an unchipped, enamel-lined pan will work as well. What's important is that you can weight down the cabbage so that it stays submerged.

I've been using an airlock lacto-fermentation kit made by Le Parfait which is available at the Farmer's Kitchen near the Hollywood Farmer's Market.

Today's recipe comes from Chef Ernest Miller at the Farmer's Kitchen. It's a basic sauerkraut recipe that's flavored with rich caraway, spicy mustard, and sweet celery seeds. Of course, you can use whatever seasonings you like, or none at all. Just be sure to start with the freshest cabbage and use a scale to measure the cabbage and the salt.

For a 3 liter or 3 quart vessel, use the quantities below. For a 1.5 liter or 2 quart container, cut these quantities in half:

3 lbs shredded or thinly sliced cabbage
1 oz canning, pickling, kosher, or sea salt (do not use iodized table salt for fermented products)
2 t caraway seeds
2 t yellow mustard seeds
1 t celery seeds

You may need a little extra brine which can be made by bringing 1 oz of salt and 1 qt of water to a boil.

1. Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. Rinse the head under cold running water and drain.

2. Cut the cabbage in quarters and remove the cores. Shred or slice the cabbage thinly.

3. Put the shredded cabbage in a large mixing bowl and toss with the salt and spices using clean hands.

4. Pack the cabbage firmly into your clean jar or other fermenting vessel until the salt draws the juices from the cabbage.

5. Place a clean weight on top of the cabbage to force the water out of the cabbage and keep it submerged in its own brine. You can use a clean jar filled with brine or a plastic Ziploc bag filled with brine as a weight. Just be sure that all the cabbage is submerged. If the cabbage hasn't exuded enough liquid to cover itself, then add enough brine to cover the cabbage.

6. Cover the jar and twist on the airlock. Add a little brine to the airlock. Keep at a temperature of 70-80 degrees F for 2-4 weeks until fully fermented. Kraut stored at 60-65 degrees F might take a little longer. Kraut stored at temperature below 60 degrees F may not ferment.

It's normal for the sauerkraut to produce some bubbles during fermentation. 

Today's bounty included:
From Weiser Family Farms: Russian Banana potatoes; 
From Jaime Farms: Cabbage, celery, radishes, hot-house zucchini, free range eggs, hot-house red peppers, romaine, cilantro, and parsley;
From Sage Mountain Farm: Scallions, green onions, spinach, spicy greens mix, and rainbow chard; From JR Organics: Baby carrots abd Red Russian kale.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Yellow Coconut Curry

What amazing choices we had today from six local farmers!

From Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, there was:

Yellow seedless watermelon
Kabocha squash
Japanese turnips
Yellow carrots
Corn
Romaine lettuce
Red chard
Green cabbage
Green peppers
Baby pumpkins
Red cherry tomatoes
Pink and yellow Brandywine tomatoes

Tierra Miguel Foundation provided biodynamically grown:
Strawberries
Orange carrots
Green chard
Flat leaf parsley
Yellow pear-shaped cherry tomatoes
Dill

Grandpa Weiser and Weiser Family Farms provided onions, mixed heirloom potatoes, and parsnips.

One of our choices at pickup today: turnips or parsnips. Brent says add a little brown sugar to turnips to sweeten them up a bit. Parsnips are sweet enough on their own.

Winnetka Farms provided beautiful Italian salad greens: Three kinds of Cicoria: Treviso, Mantovano, and Castel Franco; Cornetto di Bordeaux endive; and Riccia rossa or Curly Red lettuce. Craig gave us a recipe as well; posting it pronto.

But first, Tara says: Loved having Winnetka Farms contribute to the harvest today. Craig and I have had many conversations on the phone. Finally we met in person last weekend at Artisanal LA. He is such a passionate grower. A dream to have for our CSA. Those amazing pumpkins were his as well. Huge Italian heirlooms, dopey happy and orange and plump, and sort of hungover. Kate? I hope yours made you smile.... It sure had character.

At Silver Lake Farms, our little microgreens department - Bruce and Rachel - scored a major breakthrough this week, conquering arugula. We'd been having trouble getting it to germinate and take off well. Now we know the trick. Arugula at pickup soon ! Today it was radish microgreens and pea shoots, grown with biodymamic compost. We love love love our compost pile as you can see above.

David Davis and his lovely lady, Flora Ito, provided the gorgeous avocados today. They have huge trees producing on an amazing piece of land in Glassell Park. We're talking about having me grow there. Very exciting! A third growing ground...

Back in the kitchen, and today's recipe from Shelley is inspired by Thai cooking and uses many of the vegetables in today's box. There are many complex and wonderful flavors in Thai cuisine. However, this simple and delicious coconut curry is super easy to make.

What I like best about this recipe is its flexibility. You can make it with many different kinds of vegetables and/or meats. Sometimes, I use just onions, carrots, celery, and chicken. In the summer, when zucchini squash is over-running my garden, I'll add zucchini to the mix.

My favorite way to make this curry is with five or six different vegetables and no meat. And while I vary the ingredients frequently, I always start with onions and include carrots. From there, you can be creative. You'll want to start with 5-6 C of chopped vegetables in addition to the onion.

As for the curry spice: You can mix up your own curry powder if you'd like. I simply use a very generous amount of pre-mixed sweet curry powder. If you prefer hot, you can use that instead. Let your taste be your guide.

Yellow Coconut Curry

1 onion
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin coins
1 green pepper, seeded and sliced lengthwise
2-3 parsnips, peeled and sliced into coins
1/4 green cabbage, coarsely chopped into large pieces
1 kabocha squash, scrubbed, seeded, partially peeled and chopped into 1" cubes**
1-2 spring Thai basil (optional)
1-2 T oil
2-4 T prepared curry powder, or more to taste
1 can (about 14 oz) coconut milk + 1/2 can water
salt to taste

1. Slice the onion lengthwise and set aside.

2. Prepare 5-6 C chopped vegetables and set aside. Use the vegetables listed above or substitute (or add) others to your taste, such as broccoli, zucchini or other summer squash, red pepper, eggplant, Thai eggplant, potatoes. Most vegetables work, but tomatoes tend to disintegrate with long cooking. If you want to use tomatoes, add them when the curry is nearly cooked through.

3. Heat the oil in a large saute pan with a tight fitting lid. Add the curry powder and toast slightly.

4. Add the onions, cover and cook until the onions are translucent, about 2 minutes.

5. Add the remaining 5-6 C chopped vegetables, Thai basil (if you're using it), 1 can coconut milk, 1/2 can water and 1/2 t salt.

6. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender - 10 to 20 minutes depending on the type of vegetables and how you chopped them.

7. Uncover, check seasoning, adding more curry or salt, if desired. I sometimes add 1-2 t sugar, honey, or agave syrup. If the sauce is too watery, cook uncovered for a few minutes to thicken the sauce. If it's too thick, add a little water.

I like garnishing this curry with cilantro sprigs and serving it over brown rice, but Jasmine rice is also delicious. You can skip the rice altogether and eat it like a soup if you prefer.

If you're so inclined, you can add some peeled and sliced mango. Pick a firm, but ripe mango and add it when the curry is nearly done.

**The kabocha squash skin may be too tough to eat even after cooking, but keeping the skin on prevents the squash from turning to mush during cooking.

Enjoy!

Shelley

Creamy Cheese-y Cole Slaw

Here's what Farmer John had for us at the Silver Lake pick-up this week:

Cabbage
Baby bok choy
Arugula
Green garlic
Cilantro
Mizuna
Texas mustard
Baby dill
Tat soi
Chamomile
Red and green romaine

There are hundreds of recipes for cole slaw. Some are creamy, others are tangy. Most are made with cabbage, which is an excellent source of vitamins C and K.

This rich cole slaw is made with blue cheese and crumbled bacon. If you're a vegetarian, or if you don't eat bacon, you can leave it out.

Creamy Cheese-y Cole Slaw

6 C finely shredded fresh cabbage
1/2 medium red or sweet onion, finely chopped (or more to taste)
2 T chopped fresh parsley, optional
1/2 C buttermilk
1/4 C mayonnaise
1/2 C crumbled blue cheese
1/4 C crispy fried, crumbled bacon
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the onion and parsley.

2. In a small bowl or a measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk and mayonnaise until smooth.

3. Pour the buttermilk dressing over the cabbage mixture. Add the blue cheese. Mix well until the cole slaw is coated with the dressing.

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Refrigerate for one hour or longer. Cole slaw keeps well in the refrigerator for several days, though the cabbage will become less crisp over time.

6. Before serving, stir in the crisp crumbled bacon.

Enjoy!

Shelley