Category: Beef

Cabbage Rolls

Words and Photos by Amanda Callahan of Callywood Farms

The classic cabbage roll dish that we generally think of is an Eastern European ancestral food, commonly incorporating tender cabbage leaves stuffed with a filling of rice, ground beef and aromatics then gently braised in a simple tomato sauce. However, this comforting combination turns up in many global cuisines like Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

This is a method recipe and once you have the basics down, it’s infinitely adaptable to seasonal changes and flavor preferences. For instance, in the fall I make one with a filling of roasted sweet potatoes, apples, and quinoa finished with a cinnamon spiced tomato sauce. It is divine. It also doesn’t have to be cabbage! Swap in collards or even Swiss chard. Heck, if greens aren’t your thing, the sauce and filling would be delightful tossed with pasta and baked.

Though the results are worth it, because of the rolling process this recipe does take some time and is best as a weekend cooking project as opposed to a weeknight dinner. However, we love the flavors of cabbage rolls so much that on weeknights we apply the flavors in different ways like in a soup or meatballs.

Ingredients

1 large head of green cabbage
1 pound ground beef
1 small to medium onion, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small carrots, shredded
2 celery stalks, chopped small
2-4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup uncooked rice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 to 4 cups of your favorite simple tomato sauce, my favorite is here

Directions

Cut the core out of the cabbage, but leave it whole. Place the cabbage in a large bowl with the cored part facing up. Boil a small pot of water and pour the water over the cabbage and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan. Cook the onions until they are soft, and add the carrot and celery. Sauté them for a couple of minutes, until they are soft. Add the minced garlic and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Transfer it to a bowl and let it cool a bit. Mix in the meat, rice and tomato paste and season again with salt and pepper.
In a large Dutch oven (or large pot with a lid), heat your tomato sauce (or make it).
Drain the head of cabbage. Pull off large leaves, trying not to rip the leaf. Cut out the large vein — if the leaf is very large, you can make two rolls from each, if it is smaller, you can cut the vein out partially and pull the sides to overlap before you roll it into one roll. Pat the leaves dry with towels.

Roll about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling in each leaf. Place each roll in the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, letting them simmer covered on the stove on low for about 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

Baked Food Beef Eggs Garlic Onions Pork Recipes Ricotta Rosemary

Ricotta Meatballs

Words and photos by Amanda Callahan of Callywood Farms
Adapted from this recipe.

I’ve been making this recipe for years, and it has become a beloved standby. It simplifies making meatballs by multiple steps and ingredients, and the results are still tender and delicious with endless possibilities. Serve them over spaghetti with tomato sauce, glazed in jam for an appetizer, or with a side of Romesco such as this one. I used ground pork here, but you can use any meat you like including ground chicken as in the original recipe linked above. In the summertime, I swap the rosemary for basil — use what speaks to you and the seasons. You really can’t go wrong. My family prefers straight up meatballs without the bread, but you can certainly add in breadcrumbs if desired.

Ingredients
1 small onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ground meat
8 oz. ricotta cheese
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, minced
1 egg, whisked
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a small sauté pan, sauté the onion until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Set aside to cool down.
3. Set up a sheet pan and line with a Silpat mat, parchment paper or tin foil.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the meat, cheese, rosemary, cooled onion/garlic, egg, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until combined.
5. Form the mixture into meatballs and arrange on the sheet pan.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes, turning the meatballs and pan after the first 15 minutes. They should get nice and brown with some darker brown spots.

Baked Food Beef Buttermilk Corn Cornmeal Garlic Milk Onions Peppers Recipes

Beef Tamale Pie Recipe

Words and photos by Amanda Callahan of Callywood Farms

Tamales are a flavor-packed staple in many Mexican kitchens (and other countries, too), but the process of preparation is fairly time-intensive. It requires preparing a filling such as meat, vegetables or a combination, and a wrapper, usually corn husks soaked in water to make them pliable, or banana leaves. Once filled, the bundles are steamed and finished with sauces and accoutrements. When you don’t have time to make them from scratch, this fantastic dish will give you the flavors and textures in a format more accessible to weeknight dinner.

It features Mexican-spiced meat with a cornbread-like topping. As with the original inspiration, feel free to modify the protein in this recipe: pork, chicken and green chiles, mushrooms, black beans and corn, etc. all make stellar variations. You’ll have to adjust cooking times, but the possibilities are truly limitless.

Recipe note: The day before or morning that you want to serve this for dinner, start on the beef. You can either pressure cook or slow cook the roast. I actually used my pressure cooker to slow cook the beef. The reason I did this was to brown the meat in the pot first and not lose the flavor from the bottom. In addition to that, I can use my pressure cooker pot to reduce the sauce after cooking using the “sauté” function.

Beef Tamale Pie

Ingredients
For the beef

4 lb chuck roast
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, coriander
Oil
1 onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, smashed
10 guajillo chiles (dried poblano peppers), seeds and inside ribs removed, torn into pieces. You can find these in the Hispanic section of most markets, online or visit a Mexican grocery store.
Substitutions: Ancho Chile, Pasilla Negro Chile, Cascabel Chile
Cooking liquid (beer/wine, stock, water)

For the tamale pie

1 onion, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1 cup freeze dried corn
2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk or buttermilk
2 limes, zested
1 stick of butter, melted and cooled

Directions

Refer to the recipe note above, and decide how you will cook your beef. Cut it into pieces, if needed, to sear. Season all sides with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and coriander. In a hot pan or pressure cooker, coat the bottom in oil and sear until each side is deep brown and forms a crust. Use more oil and sear more pieces, if needed.
Add onions and garlic to the hot pan, and sauté for just a few minutes. Add chiles. Pour a cup of the cooking liquid into the pan (beer/wine is your choice here, if using, or use preferred stock or water), and use a study spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom. Place the beef back in and spoon the onion/pepper mixture on top. Cover the beef with additional water/stock. Slow cook on low for 8 hours, or pressure cook for 60 minutes and let it naturally release. Shred the beef while still warm and allow to cool in the cooking liquid. If cooking the beef the day before, place it in the fridge (preparing a day in advance will get you the most flavorful meat).
About 60 minutes before you want to eat, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Remove beef from cooking liquid (you may have to warm it up a bit if it was in the fridge). Place the beef in a 13×9 baking dish. Place the cooking liquid over a boil and reduce it by ⅓-½ to concentrate the flavors. Puree the liquid using a blender or processor. You only need 1 cup for the rest of the recipe, but the extra sauce can go in the freezer as future enchilada or tamale sauce. I had about 4 cups of reduced cooking liquid.
Start the tamale pie. Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium and add some oil. Once the oil is warm, add and sauté the onion, peppers, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5-8 minutes until the onions are translucent and peppers are soft.
Empty the cooked vegetables over the beef. Add the corn and one cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Stir everything together and taste for seasoning. Mine needed additional salt and pepper.
Mix the cornbread topping: in a large bowl whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a large measuring cup or another bowl combine the eggs and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir. Add the zest and pour in the melted butter, continuing to whisk while doing so. Whisk until everything is uniformly combined.
Pour the cornbread over the beef mixture, and spread evenly with a spatula to each edge.
Bake at 425 for 25 minutes, or until the cornbread is lightly browned on top. Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with your favorite Tex-Mex toppings if desired such as chopped cilantro, onions, sour cream shredded cheese, etc.