BAKED CABBAGE ROLLS AND WARM APPLES

 

                            Baked cabbage rolls and warm apples

 

          Back-to-back weekend snowstorms make us long for warm filling meals. Since they also provide more time for kitchen activities the home cook can tackle recipes which are not complicated in their own right, but by their nature require more cook time. Cabbage rolls are a prime example of such a winter dish, that originated in many northern European countries where cabbage used to be one of the few vegetables readily available in winter.

          In simplest terms these are flavored ground meat packets wrapped in a cabbage leaf envelope which are either cooked on stovetop or baked in a sauce. Unfortunately,

it is impossible to unwrap a cabbage leaf from a cabbage without softening it first by cooking, which adds another set of steps to the cooking process.

                                                  Baked cabbage rolls

          Choose a medium sized cabbage since you want the leaves to be large enough to wrap securely 2-3 tablespoons of the filling, but not too large since you will have to lift out the whole head out of a boiling pot of water to process the leaves. Trim any discolored outer leaves and with a sharp knife cut out at least an inch of the bottom core. Place the trimmed head in a pot of boiling salted water to cover and cook for 12 minutes. Remove the cabbage head to a plate to drain and cool enough to separate 12-14 of the outer leaves and remove a small triangle of the tough rib at the base of each leaf. The unused part of cabbage can be used in soups or stir-fries.

          For the filling: fork beat an egg with 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp pepper, ½ tsp. garlic powder and 2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill and 1 medium onion finely chopped. Mix thoroughly by hand with 1 lb. 85% lean ground beef and half a cup of cooked rice. Any leftover rice or pilaf are fine for this purpose.

          The sauce, which will give the dish its characteristic strong and slightly tart flavor depends on lots of onion and thick tomato sauce. In a medium bowl blend a 6 oz. can of tomato paste with 2 cups beef broth, 8 oz. tomato sauce, 1-2 tbsp. Worcester sauce, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. sugar, 2 large, chopped onions and 2 tbsp. white vinegar.

          Spread some of the sauce in the bottom of a 7x11 deep baking dish or equivalent and scatter a couple coarsely chopped unfilled leaves on top. Spread out a cabbage leaf on a plate, place 2-3 tbsp meat in the center and fold the leaf around the meat in envelope fashion starting with the thickest part. Arrange the folded rolls tightly together in the pan. Evenly spread the rest of the sauce over the filled cabbage rolls. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 2 and ½ hours. Serve hot with dilled boiled potatoes. Cabbage rolls freeze well and are even better when reheated.

          A warm apple pie would pair well for dessert with cabbage rolls, but a simpler substitute of fried apples is less time consuming and equally flavorful.

                                                         Fried apples

          Quarter and core 4-5 small to medium apples and slice without peeling each quarter in 4 slices. Melt 2 tbsp. unsalted butter in a large pan and when hot stir in the apple slices. Cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes with occasional turning and allowing some of the apples to brown. Partway through the cooking stir in a handful of raisins. To finish sprinkle with 2 tbsp. lime juice and 2 tbsp. brown sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved and serve warm or at room temperature plus or minus whipped cream.

          A cozy kitchen with its appetizing aromas is a comfort on days as I watch the growing mountain of snow from the plowed drive get ever higher in our front yard. But it is January and we do live in Maine.

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day…”and “Uncharted Journey from Riga”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)