Cabbage Patch

Festive Stuffed Cabbage

What we called “the squash pond” in summer has turned ground to become the “cabbage patch,” all of which are slowly gathering their leaves like elephant ears around the plant's heading centers. I dedicated another garden patch to a Dutch 50-day early variety of green medium-sized cabbages with brilliant white centers, ideal for sectioning and steaming, fermenting into Sauerkraut, and stuffing whole.

Dutch Early

Stuffed cabbage is as ubiquitous as the pig in world cuisines, each with its own unique twist on the filling, seasonings, and cooking methods. The basic concept is similar across all versions: cabbage leaves are wrapped or stuffed with a filling typically made from a combination of meat (plain or smoked) grains, vegetables, herbs, and spices, possibly chestnuts or potatoes, and then cooked to blend and marry the flavors. Cabbage rolls predominate, and tomato is often the preferred sauce that is particularly harmonious with both cabbage and meat fillings. Many cultures associate stuffed cabbage with festive occasions and holidays, a sense of tradition, and family togetherness. Here is my personal Thanksgiving variation, a kind of chou farci stuffed with seasoned turkey sausage and smoked pancetta, perfumed with mirepoix, parsley, and caraway, extended with butter-browned breadcrumbs and bound with eggs. My variation on the whole cabbage is first de-capped and steamed whole until just tender, and then the stuffing is interleaved between the successive layers.

Serves 6

• 1 medium-sized green cabbage - about 1000 grams, 2-1/2 inches of top cut and saved

• Place the cabbage in a steamer. Trim the root end so that it sits flat. Steam the cabbage for 30-40 minutes until the leaves are just soft, and the center core gives to the point of a knife. Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing:

• Smoked Pancetta or bacon, diced 1/4 inch - 56 grams

• Unsalted Butter - 25 grams

• Carrots, finely diced - 81 grams

• Celery, finely diced - 55 grams

• Shallot, finely minced - 37 grams

• Garlic - finely minced - 6 grams

• Cabbage top, finely diced - 300 grams

• Caraway seed - 6 grams - 55 grams

• Riesling or other fruity white wine - 55

• Salt - 4 grams

• Ground black pepper - 1.5 grams

• Render the bacon without browning it. Add the butter and melt it in the pan with the bacon and bacon fat. Add the carrots, celery, shallot, garlic, minced cabbage (from the top removed), salt, and pepper and cook until just soft. Add the wine and cook it away.

• Coarsely ground turkey seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, and sage - 418 grams

• Italian Parsley, finely chopped - 12 grams

• Unsalted butter - 18 grams

• Coarse Country breadcrumbs - 70

• Melt the butter in a pan and toast the breadcrumbs until well browned

• 2 Eggs, whisked - 97 grams

• Grated Parmigiano Reggiano - 25

Mix turkey, mirepoix mixture, parsley, breadcrumbs, eggs and Parmigiano and combine well.

Allow the steamed cabbage to cool. Remove 5-6 leaves from the outside of the steamed cabbage and set aside for finishing. Working from the bottom of the cabbage, carefully pull away the leaves layer by layer, interleaving each with stuffing and building leaves and stuffing to the top of the cabbage.

Finish the cabbage by packing the remaining stuffing around and over the top of the layers. Cover the stuffing with the reserved leaves you removed after steaming the cabbage and compress it on all sides into a handsome orb.

Wrap tightly in foil and bake in a 300 F oven for l hour 20 minutes until just tender in the center core when pierced with a skewer.

Sauce: Brown a little smoked bacon, add a small amount of mirepoix, and soften over medium heat. Add tomato sauce and spike with a little vinegar. Reduce to the consistency of heavy cream. Slice the cabbage into wedges and pour a little of the sauce around. Serve with cold hard cider, Riesling Spätlese, or off-dry Chenin Blanc.

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