Recipe Source: Holmin, Dalal A. & Maher A. Abas, M. D. From the Tables of Lebanon. Book Publishing Company, Summertown, 1997 pp. 86 - 7
Growing up I worshipped my grandmother - my mother's mother. She was the best cook in the whole world, and the best human being at least as far as I was concerned. (I've never met anyone who had anything to say to the contrary either, so as far as I'm concerned I was right.) She was not a fancy cook - far from it, she prided herself on the simplicity and "ordinariness" of her cooking. Of course nothing ordinary ever came out of her kitchen, but she wasn't the kind of cook to experiment with the exotic or unusual. She knew what she wanted to make and she knew exactly how to make it happen. Her house always smelled divine and I used to spend hours upon hours in her kitchen, wrapping myself up in the smells of Paradise.
There was one dish she never liked to make, and it was stuffed cabbage. She never liked to make it and I was never even really encouraged to eat it. Not that I can remember anyway. My mother liked it, though, and every once in a while she would make it to gratify her daughter. What I remember most about those times was the smell. The perfumes of Paradise were exchanged for the stink of Hell, and if I go to Hell when I die I am certain that it will smell like cooking cabbage. That smell turned me off cabbage for decades and until I started this website I would not permit cabbage in my home. I've been working my way toward the stuff slowly but surely. When I was entertaining relatives for my daughter's birthday party I decided that maybe I would try to serve them stuffed cabbage. My mother, at least, would probably like it.
As it turns out, everyone liked it. Everyone but me, that is. I've figured out what it is besides the hideous smell that I don't like about cabbage. It is sweet. I do not do sweet. At least now I know, right? I made a few changes tot he recipe as you might well expect. I used brown rice instead of white because that's what I keep around. My husband is allergic to mint so of course that was right out; instead I used dill. I couldn't get my hands on white onions so yellow were used and I increased the garlic on general principles. My mother cannot eat cinnamon so that was left out too, and I reduced the amount of olive oil on general principles. I didn't have tomato puree. What I did have was my own home-canned tomatoes, which I pureed myself. If I used a little more than originally called for, well, lycopene is good for you.
Like I said, everyone liked it but me, but it didn't turn out the way I envisioned. The cabbage rolls did not stay rolled. They mostly fell apart. That's why I'm listing this as a "fail" even though it was well received. I guess appearance counts for less than some writers would have us think!
Stuffed Cabbage (serves 6; approx. $1.99/serving)
1 cup uncooked brown basmati rice
1 large bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh dill, finely chopped
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cabbage, leaves separated and deveined
8 more cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes with their juices
Water
Equipment:
- Large deep pot
- Large bowls
- Immersion blender
- Heat resistant plate
- Rinse the rice and drain.
- Combine the rice with the herbs, onion, first 8 cloves garlic, spices, lemon juice and olive oil. Mix well and set aside.
- The original recipe called for the cabbage leaves to be briefly blanched. I tried that. It made me curse and didn't work for the purpose intended. So I stopped. It's your call.
- Spread the cabbage leaves out on a work surface of some sort. Fill with some of the filling toward the middle-bottom of the leaf. Fold in the sides and roll up. Put it in the pot. Stack in layers.
- Combine the remaining garlic with the tomatoes in the other large bowl. Use the immersion blender to puree.
- Cover the layers of cabbage with the pureed tomatoes.
- Add water to the pot. The water should come up 1/2 inch taller than the tallest layer of cabbage.
- Weight the leaves down with the heat-resistant plate.
- Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.
- Serve.
