Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
Back in March 2019, Lia and I did an experiment. I cut the end of the cauliflower off and put it in a dish with water and within a few days it started growing leaves!. A month later it had grown even more. Lia had fun watchin it grow.
We planted the baby cabbage plants in the garden in the fall of 2021. Over the winter the cabbage grew and grew and by the spring of 2022 it was full of leaves! No cabbage just leave but they were so perfect.
We had a beautiful ornamental plant in the fall of 2022 with a stalk growing out of the center of the cabbage with pretty little yellow flowers. I decided we wouldn’t have cabbage but we had a pretty plant.
Fast forward to now and look at my cabbage plant! Still no cabbage but I decided to experiment with just the leaves. I pinched off three leaves (I don’t use scissors because I was told the plant may turn brown) and decided to try making stuffed cabbage leaves!
My first step was to boiling the leaves until tender and then I flattened them to keep them from rolling up. Next I cut the thick vein out and now I was ready to attempt my cabbage rolls!
The stuffing I made was two ground beef patties that I crumbled up and browned, added brown rice and spaghetti sauce. This is the same stuffing I make with Rich’s stuffed pepper and that’s what he had since he’s not a cabbage lover.
I don’t think I made these like they are suppose to be but I added some stuffing to the top of the leaf and flipped one point over and added a bit more stuffing before I rolled them. I must say it was messy! I think I was suppose to tie them together but I carefully put them in the baking dish and covered them with more sauce. Mission accomplished, they are going in the oven for 30 minutes!
I added shredded cheese for the last few minutes of baking and when done the stuffed pepper and stuffed cabbage leaves were ready to eat.
Dinner is served and while they may not look that pretty, my stuffed cabbage leaves were delicious. Rich added the finishing touch of the rose that he does everyday! Now I’m excited to prefect my recipe and make these again!
Martha, what a great story of regenerating your own food! Even though it’s breakfast time here, I am now craving one of Martha’s cabbage rolls! I’ve never made them, myself, but I have enjoyed them when others made them. Yum yum!
I like to be frugal in every way Kebba. They were delicious!
The plant is definitely lovely! I am not a cabbage lover myself which probably stems from the fact that my mom cooked her cabbage to within an itch of its life! LOL
I am glad your recipes worked and I look forward to hearing about what you do to perfect it! Have a lovely day!
I love cabbage Dominique, especially fried cabbage with bacon and onions!
What a great lesson for Lia – and us readers – to learn: If life doesn’t give you cauliflower, just leaves, use them for a creative recipe! Boom!
In the Southeastern part of Switzerland there is a popular regional dish called “Capuns”. They are made from Spätzle dough with pieces of dried meat, such as Bündnerfleisch and/or Salsiz, and rolled in a chard leaf. They are boiled in a gravy of bouillon, milk and water and served covered with grated cheese.
https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/2023/04/medical-mixups.html
Well that sounds delicious Tamara! I’m always ready to try something new and not waste things.
You have a nice little garden out there (I like it), and your stuffed cabbage leaves recipe looks good.
It was the first time I try them Danwil but I didn’t want to leave to go to waste. They were delicious!
Martha, I commented previously when I saw this post on FB. But I must say, this recipe looks like it would be fantastic with finely chopped eggplant or zucchini bits instead of rice. Yummmm!
Oh that does sound delicious Kebba! I’ll have to remember that next time.
That looks so good.
First time I made them and I loved them Amanda.