Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce

From the 1930's through the 1960's, the Upper East Side (where we live now) was known as "Germantown". In fact, East 86th Street was called the "German Broadway". The expression "to 86", used in restaurants to signify to stop serving something (or someone), possibly came out of anti-German sentiment during World War II. (Now, I have to admit, this was a story I always grew up hearing but could find no proof of it after an etymological search on the internet. Do any linguists care to enlighten me?)

In any event, we decided to celebrate our new neighborhood's former roots at our last dinner party by serving Stuffed Cabbage and Apple Streusel Egg Muffins. Always on the search for cookbooks that will support my diet rather than remind me of all the wonderful foods I'm now denying myself, I picked up a copy of Practical Paleo. Putting aside the health claims of going back to how cavemen ate (and, I'd venture to guess, none of these recipes bare any resemblance to cavemen's diets), the Paleo diet focuses on eating eggs, fruits, meat, nuts, seafood and vegetables and eliminates dairy, grains and sweeteners. Sounds familiar, no? (I haven't completely eliminated all grains but I do try to limit my intake of them so this seemed like an excellent jumping-off point.)

The biggest problem, in my mind, with a Paleo diet is that, realistically, it's not vegetarian-friendly. Sure, you can have lots of vegetables, but without legumes, grains or dairy, there's nothing there to really "bulk up" your foods and make them filling. There's also a heavy reliance on animal protein. That said, "vegetarianizing" recipes is now old-hat. So, it wasn't too hard to adapt the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce to both our tastes. I'm including the recipe for both the omnivore and vegetarian versions. Guten appetit!


*Vegetarian's Note:  Normally I handle the photographic elements of this blog, but this was one of the more enjoyable meals we've had the pleasure to serve.  As you can see from the picture here, this dish was a HUGE hit with our guests :)





Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce

• 15 ounces fresh (or frozen and defrosted) cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon apricot juice
• 1 head savoy cabbage, leaves separated carefully (you'll need about 15 cabbage leaves)
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 cup cauliflower, grated (do this in the food processor -- much easier)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1 pound ground lamb (for omnivores)
• 1 pound beluga lentils, cooked (for vegetarians)
• 4 cloves garlic, grated (as long as you've already broken out the food processor ...)
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (roasted red peppers would be a delicious addition as well!)

First make the cranberry sauce: Cook cranberries and water together in a saucepan for 15 minutes, until all cranberries have popped. Stir in apricot juice. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Fill a large pot with a few inches of water. If you have a steamer basket, place it in the pot, filled with cabbage leaves. Bring water to a boil and steam cabbage leaves until soft and pliable, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, melt coconut oil in a large skillet. Add cauliflower and saute, stirring, 3-5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine lamb (or lentils), cauliflower, garlic, onion, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon each, salt and pepper. (If you don't mind getting your hands dirty, that's the best way to ensure that everything's well mixed together.)

Fill the bottom of 1 cabbage leaf with 1/4 cup filling and roll, first the bottom, then the sides, finally tucking the ends underneath. repeat with remaining leaves. As you fill them, nestle cabbage leaves tucked side down, in a dutch oven.

Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and cranberry sauce together in a skillet over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, until the flavors are blended together. Pour sauce over cabbage rolls.

Place dish in oven and cover with foil or a lid. Bake 45 minutes. Enjoy

Links:

• Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce from Practical Paleo
• Cranberry Rolls with Tomato Cranberry Sauce from Ruby Reduction
• Alex's Mom's Stuffed Cabbage from smitten kitchen
• Stuffed Cabbage Leaves from The Shiksa Blog
• Floosh's Stuffed Cabbage from Hungry Girl
  

Braised Black Beans with Potatoes

When we first moved in together (and it became clear that I was the more comfortable in the kitchen), the vegetarian assured me that he would never expect me to have dinner on the table waiting for him when he got home. And he's been wonderfully true to his word! In fact, some of our happiest memories have been cooking together.

But these days I've been getting home first most nights. And with the vegetarian leaving the house at sunrise five days a week, dinner gets pushed earlier and earlier. Not to mention the fact that winter braises take longer to cook than a quick summer salad! And so one night last week when I knew that I'd be home first, I pulled several ingredients out of our cupboards and refrigerator (along with some fresh potatoes) and made these black beans. I also made some cornbread so that, when the vegetarian came home, it smelled like baking. As Cher said in Clueless, "Whenever a boy comes, you should always have something baking." Serve with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. Bon appetit!

We shared this post with Gluten Free Fridays. Head on over and check out all the other great entries!

Braised Black Beans with Potatoes

• 1 can (2 cups) black beans, cooked
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 cremini mushrooms
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 tablespoon Cajun spice mix
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 yellow onions, sliced
• 22 red-skinned potatoes, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground

Rinse beans in a colander and drain well.

In a heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and peppers and cook 5 minutes, until fragrant. Add beans, Cabernet, broth, Cajun spice mix and salt. Stir well, lower heat to medium-low, cover and cook 15 minutes, until beans are soft.

Add onions and potatoes. Replace cover and cook 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Partially remove lid and cook another 10 minutes until everything is soft. Season with pepper. Enjoy!

Links:

• Braised Beef with Potatoes from Southern Food and Recipes
• Green Beans with New Potatoes from Food Network
• Potato, Kale, and White Bean Hash from Beard and Bonnet
• Chicken Chili with White Beans, Sweet Potato and Lime from Gluten-Free Goddess
• Potato Veggie Burgers from Vegetarian Food
• Slow Cooker Green Beans, Ham and Potatoes from Allrecipes

Pinto Bean Picadillo

The way I see it, there are three ways to cook vegetarian: 1) you ignore that meat ever existed and just come up with your own dishes that only use the ingredients you eat; 2) you find meat recipes and substitute the meat with mock meat; or 3) you find meat recipes and adapt them for your kitchen. Not surprisingly, options one and three are the ones I follow in my kitchen. While I'm sure there are wonderful mock meat products out there, I like my food to taste like itself -- not pretend to be something it isn't. I also have the luxury that, if I'm really dying for some meat, I'll eat it.

But before we get into a political discussion about why people eat vegetarian, let me tell you about this Pinto Bean Picadillo. I first heard about Picadillo last month when the New York Times Dining & Wine Section posted a recipe for Party Picadillo. It was a one-pot dish (and, with the addition of rice, a complete meal). Moreover, they described Picadillo as a "versatile, richly seasoned ground-meat dish from Latin America" and, well, I was hooked. I'd already started making out my grocery list when I realized "wait, if I make this, what will the vegetarian have for dinner?" The ground beef is added too early in the recipe for it to be easy to take out and, moreover, so much of its flavor depends on everything melding together. So I bookmarked the recipe (maybe when we have company for dinner and I make enough sides to satisfy him?) and forgot about it.

Luckily, in search of inspiration, I stumbled on it again. And this time I thought -- let's vegetarianize it! So out went the beef and in went some pinto beans. To reinforce their flavor, I added in some safflower oil and white onions. Finally, because pinto beans are more delicately flavored than ground beef, I upped all the spices. Serve over plain brown rice for a complete protein. Enjoy with a glass of Merlot, followed by a slice of Banana Sour Cream Bread. Bon appetit!

Pinto Bean Picadillo
inspired by The New York Times

• 3 (15-oz.) cans pinto beans, drained
• 1 cup Merlot
• 1/4 cup safflower oil
• 2 white onions, chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, cored and chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup Mission olives, pitted and sliced
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin, ground
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup blanched almonds, sliced
• brown basmati rice, cooked

In a bowl, mix pinto beans and Merlot together well. Let sit so the flavors can meld. Meanwhile, heat oil in a very large pan over low heat. Add onions, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers and garlic and gently saute until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in olives and raisins, increase heat to medium and add bean and Merlot mixture, including all the liquid that wasn't absorbed. Toss everything together and let cook 10 minutes.

Stir in oregano, cumin, tomato paste, kosher salt and cayenne pepper. Lower heat back to low and cook, covered, 30 minutes. (This is a really good time to make your rice if you haven't already done so).

Top with almonds and serve warm over rice. Serves 6.

Links to other pinto bean delicacies:

• Dad's Pinto Beans from Two Recipes
• Pinto Bean Dip from Crunchy Savings
• Pinto Beans and Yellow Squashes with Green Dressing from Scandi Foodie
• Sticky Baked Lentils & Pinto Beans from Everybody Likes Sandwiches
• Arlie's Pinto Beans from Red, White & Grew