This Recipe Stuffed Don Cuevas' Cabbage
Oct 23, 2013 16:00:10 GMT
Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 23, 2013 16:00:10 GMT
I like to try challenging recipes, but as I have considerable cooking experience, more than a little "hand-holding" goes far beyond my needs.
I was wanting to make Sweet and Sour Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, (which I already knew how to do. It's imprinted upon my Ashkenazic genes.) But I was looking for something a little different. I found it. Read on.
This recipe, from theshiksa.com/2011/10/22/stuffed-cabbage-leaves/ promised to give me a new and more flavorful version of that favorite dish of the balabustehs. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balabusta
I started to print the recipe, but it seemed to run excedrinely long. Something over 5 pages? I decided to copy and paste only the meaty parts into my TextEdit program, thus eliminating the printing of a surplus of largely empty carriage returns.
That printed out to a slender two pages. But they were two pages packed with useful tips and a few, well, not so useful.
•I did like the tip on drying the separate cabbage leaves after their blanching, in order to prevent the undue dilution of the sauce.(quickly contradicted by adding water of chicken broth to the pot of cabbagerules. (Oh. I mean "rolls"!)
This tip had me fascinated, but baffled:
•"Alternatively, you can freeze the cabbage overnight (or up to 3 days). Defrost the cabbage for about three hours. This will make the leaves pliable in the same way that parboiling does."
I want to know WHY anyone would freeze a whole cabbage, only to defrost it later. Does waiting time have no meaning??
The recipe only falls short of detail in not telling the reader what to wear, how to stand, how to breathe properly and so on.
"Fold the left edge of the leaf inward. Leave the right side of the leaf open."
OMG! I rolled before I folded! Will my cabbage rolls get the Seal of Approval? Sure; my Seal.
"Continue rolling the leaf till it’s completely rolled up (with the right end still loose/open)."
"Tuck the loose end of the leaf inward, pushing it into the filled center of the leaf."
"This will create a neat package that has a better chance of holding together in the pot."
But I am definitely not a neatnik. Somehow it all worked out alright. Over three hours later and at least three, or (was it four ?) cooking pots, numerous taste testings (the fun part) it all came together.
Cooking time is prescribed to two hours; no wait:
"Let the cabbage leaves cook for 2-2 ½ hours till the thickest parts of the leaves are tender. Check the pot periodically to make sure it’s not boiling too vigorously—this can make the leaves fall apart. A slow, even simmer works best."—Good advice, but too long, IMO.
I think the whole thing would definitely come together if cooked that long. I let it cook for a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Here's what I like about the recipe:
•The seasoning, and the pre-tasting of the filling before committing to an irreversible stuffing.
•The use of a generous amount of cooked rice in the filling, which serves to lighten what in past efforts, often resembled lead castings.
• The use of sauerkraut in both the filling and in the surrounding ambient matrix.
•The daring use of non-comformist spices, such as allspice and paprika in the sauce. I also added cinnamon and ginger, and a pinch of hot red chile.
•The absence of dried fruits, such as raisins or even cranberries. I confess to having perpetuated that cliché in the past.
I could do without the excess of detail and the superfluous illustrations:
"Pour 1/3 of the warmed tomato sauce over the first layer of stuffed cabbage leaves."
(image)
"Put another layer of stuffed leaves on top..."
(image)
"and top with the rest of the sauce."
(image of pot on stove, ready to turn on.)
Wait, damn it! Wait for instructions before you screw this up.
Her photo. My thanks to the Shiksa blogger and I hope to Hell that she has a sense of humor.
In the end, my Cabbage Rolls were perhaps not as regularly symmetrical as the Shiksa blogger's, but they were fine. We will now be able to pass Winter well stuffed with Cabbage Rolls.
I was wanting to make Sweet and Sour Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, (which I already knew how to do. It's imprinted upon my Ashkenazic genes.) But I was looking for something a little different. I found it. Read on.
This recipe, from theshiksa.com/2011/10/22/stuffed-cabbage-leaves/ promised to give me a new and more flavorful version of that favorite dish of the balabustehs. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balabusta
I started to print the recipe, but it seemed to run excedrinely long. Something over 5 pages? I decided to copy and paste only the meaty parts into my TextEdit program, thus eliminating the printing of a surplus of largely empty carriage returns.
That printed out to a slender two pages. But they were two pages packed with useful tips and a few, well, not so useful.
•I did like the tip on drying the separate cabbage leaves after their blanching, in order to prevent the undue dilution of the sauce.(quickly contradicted by adding water of chicken broth to the pot of cabbage
This tip had me fascinated, but baffled:
•"Alternatively, you can freeze the cabbage overnight (or up to 3 days). Defrost the cabbage for about three hours. This will make the leaves pliable in the same way that parboiling does."
I want to know WHY anyone would freeze a whole cabbage, only to defrost it later. Does waiting time have no meaning??
The recipe only falls short of detail in not telling the reader what to wear, how to stand, how to breathe properly and so on.
"Fold the left edge of the leaf inward. Leave the right side of the leaf open."
OMG! I rolled before I folded! Will my cabbage rolls get the Seal of Approval? Sure; my Seal.
"Continue rolling the leaf till it’s completely rolled up (with the right end still loose/open)."
"Tuck the loose end of the leaf inward, pushing it into the filled center of the leaf."
"This will create a neat package that has a better chance of holding together in the pot."
But I am definitely not a neatnik. Somehow it all worked out alright. Over three hours later and at least three, or (was it four ?) cooking pots, numerous taste testings (the fun part) it all came together.
Cooking time is prescribed to two hours; no wait:
"Let the cabbage leaves cook for 2-2 ½ hours till the thickest parts of the leaves are tender. Check the pot periodically to make sure it’s not boiling too vigorously—this can make the leaves fall apart. A slow, even simmer works best."—Good advice, but too long, IMO.
I think the whole thing would definitely come together if cooked that long. I let it cook for a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Here's what I like about the recipe:
•The seasoning, and the pre-tasting of the filling before committing to an irreversible stuffing.
•The use of a generous amount of cooked rice in the filling, which serves to lighten what in past efforts, often resembled lead castings.
• The use of sauerkraut in both the filling and in the surrounding ambient matrix.
•The daring use of non-comformist spices, such as allspice and paprika in the sauce. I also added cinnamon and ginger, and a pinch of hot red chile.
•The absence of dried fruits, such as raisins or even cranberries. I confess to having perpetuated that cliché in the past.
I could do without the excess of detail and the superfluous illustrations:
"Pour 1/3 of the warmed tomato sauce over the first layer of stuffed cabbage leaves."
(image)
"Put another layer of stuffed leaves on top..."
(image)
"and top with the rest of the sauce."
(image of pot on stove, ready to turn on.)
Wait, damn it! Wait for instructions before you screw this up.
Her photo. My thanks to the Shiksa blogger and I hope to Hell that she has a sense of humor.
In the end, my Cabbage Rolls were perhaps not as regularly symmetrical as the Shiksa blogger's, but they were fine. We will now be able to pass Winter well stuffed with Cabbage Rolls.