Categories
Beef Cabbage Carrots Celery Olive Oil Onions Tomatoes

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

  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  2. In a large Dutch oven (or large pot with a lid), heat your tomato sauce (or make it). 
  3. 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.

Categories
Bacon Carrots Celery Garlic Olive Oil Onions Potatoes Recipes Turnips

Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup with Guanciale and Celery Salad Topping

Words and photos by Amanda Callahan of Callywood Farms

Ready for another super easy, super versatile and super delicious recipe? Keep on reading! I love roasted turnips: the cooking process brings out the sweetness of this misunderstood root veggie and makes them approachable for those who shy away. That said, turnips do tend to have a “love ‘em or hate ‘em” reputation, so I wanted to make something that would be appealing to fans and could-be fans alike. Soup seemed a natural place to start with its cozy vibe well-suited for our current cold temperatures.

But, how could I make unconvinced turnip eaters more interested? Enter the ever-popular garden darlings: potatoes and carrots. By pureeing and blending the turnips with these beloved add-ins, you get the best of both worlds: full, rich flavor without the pronounced turnip twang. Win!

If you’re still unsure, let me give you a little firm-but-polite nudge. Put your support-the-farmers-money-where-your-mouth-is, step outside your comfort zone and bring a variety of vegetables and meat cuts into your home. Buy the turnips, grab and cure the pork jowl and let’s get these overlooked items onto your plate! 

Pro tip: Save all your resulting veggie peelings to make stock. Keep a freezer bag in your freezer and add onion, carrot and celery peelings/ends until it’s full. Mushroom stems, some potato peelings and herbs stems are other great additions, but steer clear of brassica items (cabbage, kale, broccoli, etc.). Once the bag is full, add to a large pot or stock pot with leftover bones, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer on low for three to four hours (or longer if you wish). Add water as needed to keep ingredients covered while they cook. Strain and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
2 turnips, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 pounds carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large onion or several small, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, leaves removed and saved, cut into large chunks
2 heads of garlic
1 handful of roasting blend of fresh herbs, chopped (or more to taste)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
4 slices guanciale or thick-cut bacon, sliced into lardons (small strips or cubes)
6 cups stock
½ lemon, juiced

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat the oven to 425.
  2. On a large rimmed sheet pan, layer all the vegetables in a single layer, using two pans if you must (you won’t get the charred edges with an overcrowded pan). Drizzle with oil, season aggressively with salt, pepper, and herbs. Toss to coat. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes until charred in spots, flipping and rotating pan halfway through cooking time.
  3. While the vegetables cook, mince the celery leaves and place in a small bowl. Add lemon juice and cracked black pepper. Mix thoroughly, set aside.
  4. In a large soup pot set over medium heat, crisp the jowl or bacon pieces. Remove from heat, set aside. Remove all but 1-2 tablespoons of the fat from the pot. 
  5. When the vegetables are done, place in a high-power blender with 2 cups of stock and puree until smooth. Alternatively, put vegetables and stock into the soup pot and use an immersion blender to puree.
  6. Pour the puree into the soup pot and set to low heat. Add the rest of the stock and simmer over low heat for 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. Adjust seasoning to your liking.

To serve: ladle soup into bowls. Top each with crispy guanciale or bacon pieces and a scoop of the celery leaf salad. I also was thinking a chili oil would perk it up nicely as well. Enjoy!

Substitutions: The vegetables are pretty interchangeable here. Try rutabaga, squash — whatever you’ve got in the fridge that needs to be used. If you’re vegetarian/vegan, replace the pork with chickpeas roasted in a hot oven until crispy and browned.

Categories
Bok Choy Celery Chicken Mushrooms Recipes Squash

Easy Butternut-Hoisin Stir-Fry

Submitted By: Emily Havener

Categories
Celery Olive Oil Onions Recipes

Ellen’s Quinoa Dressing

A great side dish any day of the year!