I have made this dish several times before but I keep making adjustments.  This one I like b/c it brings me back to my roots in New Orleans’s for meat stuffing.  Instead of a Mirepoix (onion, carrot and celery), I went with the New Orleans Trinity of onions, celery and bell pepper.  Instead of tomato puree or sauce, I went with a tomato soup.  Tomato soup is a puree BTW, with a few extra stuff, it is not as acidic as puree, once again Campbell’s wins.  This all comes back as a favorite of mine for stuffing green bell pepper or mirlitons (aka chayote squash).  Only with mirliton, I like to use ground lamb.  This substitute blend of Trinity offers a little more punch.  I have researched the origins of this dish (the way Grandma made it) but those left me little in want of just a little more flavor.  Don’t get me wrong.  Grandma’s is always good.

(Click on pic to enlarge)

1 head of cabbage

1 cup rice (cooked al dente)

2 TBSP butter

½ Lb. ground meat

½ Lb. ground pork

½ onion finely chopped

2 celery stalks with leaves finely chopped

1 medium green pepper finely chopped

1 large garlic clove minced

3 scallions (Green onion)  finer chopped

1 TBSP dried parsley

1 cup long grain rice

S&P

Water

3 cans of 10 oz. tomato soup

½ cup Sour Cream

1 cup of dry white wine (Chardonnay) or reserve one cup of the cabbage water

Rice – In a 2 quart pot bring 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water to boil, reduce to simmer, cook 8 minutes, place the rice in a strainer and rinse with cold water to stop it from cooking.  You want the rice to be half cooked.

Cabbage – cut the core out of the center of the cabbage.  Place in at least a 7 Qt. pot of boiling water with the core side up.  Boil three minutes and then gently remove the first of three or four leaves with tongs and place on a tray, keep doing this until you have peeled all the biggest usable leaves.  Remove the small remaining cabbage and return the leaves back in 3 to 4 at a time and boil another 30 seconds or so.  With a knife slice the main part of the rib off to make the leaf flexible. Set aside to cool.  Reserve the largest first leaf to place over the rolls later.

Sauté Trinity – the onion, celery, green pepper, garlic and green onion mixed in butter cooked on medium-low for 6 to 8 minutes.  Not to overcook b/c all this will go in the pot for an hour.

Mix everything but the cabbage leaves in a bowl.  Spoon ~a third cup of filling in a cabbage leaf.  Fold the top over then the side and roll the cabbage and place in an iron Dutch oven.  Stack into the Dutch oven.

Mix a can of tomato soup with 1/3 cup of white wine.  Pour over rolls.  Do this for all three cans.  Layer the reserved largest first leaf over the top of the pot.

Cooking – Bring the pot to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook 1 hour.  Ladle in about 3/4 cup of cooked tomato sauce in a two cup measuring cup and add the sour cream.  Mix with a spoon and pour back over the pot and adjust the rolls so the sour cream can rest in between the rolls.  Not to overcook the sour cream.  Just to blend it in the pot and serve.

As of 1/17/21

This recipe makes three rolls.  It took a long time to perfect this recipe for my surroundings (outside temps below freezing, kitchen temps of 68º and low humidity).

Scaling (Weight these ingredients using a scale)

250 g. Unbleached Bread Flour

4 g. Quick Rise Instant yeast

2 g. sugar

4 g. kosher salt

173 g. tap water

Mixing

In a KitchenAid mixing bowl combine the ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon.  Connect the dough hook and on setting #2 knead 5 minutes.  Turn off mixer and let dough rest 2 minutes.  Turn mixer back on and knead another 5 minutes. 

In a large metal bowl place a couple of drops of vegetable oil to grease the sides.  Put a drop or two of oil on your hands and shape the dough in a ball and place in the greased bowl.  Place a damp towel over the bowl and heat two cups of hot water, I use a Pyrex measuring cup and put both in the oven with only the oven light on.  The atmosphere in the oven should reach 72º.   I use Pyrex so I can microwave the water for 1 minute on high.

Bulk Fermentation (Because of the cold temps here, I have to let the dough initially rise ~2 hours.)

Rise the 1 hour in the oven.  Push the air out of the bread, roll into a ball again, reheat the water and place everything back in to the oven.   

Rise another 30 minutes.  Push the air out, reshape the ball and put all back into the oven for another 30 minutes.  This process may require one more time until the dough gets very elastic.  IN cold temps the dough needs longer time to ferment.

Dividing and Pre-shaping

Remove the dough onto a clean surface.  Place a little vegetable oil on the surface and divide the dough into 3 equal parts. 

Bench Resting

Place a towel over the dough parts and let the dough rest 10 minutes.

Shaping

Slap the dough on the surface to stretch the dough.  Then roll it tight from top to bottom and then shape the ends into a point by rolling the dough using your little fingers to make the ends into a point.  The final roll should be somewhere near 6 inched long and more dough in the center.

Final Fermentation

Place dough on either a pan with parchment paper or on a baguette tray.  Put back into the oven with a damp towel over it and rise 60 minutes.

Scoring

Spray the rolls with a water bottle mist first.  Then take a razor and cut a line in the dough somewhere between the side and the top with the blade level with the table. 

Baking

Place an oven rack to second from the top setting.  On the bottom rack place a metal pan with about an inch of water.  Preheat the oven to 470º.  Let oven get hot for 5 minutes after reaching the desired temp before placing the bread in.  Spray the bread with water again. Place the bread in and spray the oven.  The close the door.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Removed the tray of water and rotate the bread so it will cook evenly.  Bake another 7 minutes.  Turn off the oven and crack the oven door a little and leave the bread in the oven another 5 minutes.  This evaporates remaining moisture in the oven and in the bread.

Cooling

Place the rolls on a cooling rack and give another 5 minutes before eating.

The outer bread should be crispy and the inner bread should be light and airy.  These roll are used to make Bánh mì sandwiches or you can eat them with dinner. 

As of 12/19/20

• 

• 1 acorn squash
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 10 oz. Chicken apple sausage
• ½  yellow onion chopped
• ½ apple cored and chopped
• 1 garlic clove cut into coins
• 1 cup Brussel Sprouts
• 2 tsp. dried sage
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine
• S&P
• 1 TBSP olive oil

Cut squash in half and remove the seeds and inner parts.  Pour 1 TBSP olive oil in each half and paint the squash with the oil.  Bake in oven on 400º / 40 min.  Remove, cool, peel off skin off and chop into bite size pieces.

Cut the sausage into bite size pieces.  Sauté the sausage, apples, onions and Brussel sprouts in olive oil.  Add the wine, broth and everything else and bring to a boil.  Cover and cook on Lo for 30 minutes.

As of 12/5/20

¼ onion
2 TBSP mayo
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
Salt
Pepper
1 carrot cut to the opening of processor
¼ Cabbage
(Optional 1 TBSP+ Golden Raisins)

With the cutting blade in the food processor add the onion and chop, then add the mayo, vinegar and S&P. Chop/blend.
Remove the cutting blade and install the shredding disk, shred the carrots
Change to the slicing disk and slice the cabbage
Transfer all to a mixing bowl and mix
At this point other stuff can be added. I like to add golden raisins
Refrigerate several hours before serving

As of 8/29/20

 

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

BBQ Pork Shake
• 2 TBSP paprika
• 1 TBSP onion powder
• 1 TBSP garlic powder
• 1 TBSP lemon pepper
• 1 TBSP salt
• 1 TBSP dried basil
• 1/2 TBSP cayenne pepper
• 1/2 TBSP white pepper
• 1 TBSP McCormick Montreal Chicken seasoning

Leg of Lamb Paste
• 2 TBSP Herbs de le Ron
• (or 1 TBSP rosemary & 2 TBSP thyme)
• 5 cloves garlic
• S&G
• Olive Oil

Cajun Spice for Seafood
• ¾ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp thyme
• ¼ tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp Old Bay

Curry Blend
• 1 TBSP Coriander Powder
• 1 TBSP Curry Powder
• 1 TBSP Garam Masala
• ½ tsp. Cardamon

As of 5/12/20