Seasonal Recipes with Eli: Cabbage

This week Maya Papaya CSA surprised me with cabbage. I enjoy cabbage and growing up in a Jewish home, the holidays often consisted of "Stuffed Cabbage". Traditionally its stuffed with beef, but I put my own twist on it and used turkey and chorizo. I am calling it "Not Your Bubbies Stuffed Cabbage". The recipe is based on the one from Ina Garten. Bon appetite!

"Not Your Bubbies Stuffed Cabbage"

Ingredients
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes and their juice
3 links of Chorizo, diced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup raisins (*I took out the raisins because I dont like them)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (adjust to liking)
2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 large head Savoy or green cabbage, including outer leaves

For the filling
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey
3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
For the sauce, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the diced chorizo and onions, and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes, thyme, vinegar, brown sugar, raisins, salt, crushed red pepper and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Remove the entire core of the cabbage with a paring knife. Immerse the head of cabbage in the boiling water for a few minutes, peeling off each leaf with tongs as soon as it s flexible. Set the leaves aside. Depending on the size of each leaf, you will need at least 14 leaves.

For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, eggs, onion, breadcrumbs, rice,salt, and pepper. Add 1 cup of the sauce to the meat mixture and mix lightly with a fork.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To assemble, place 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Place 1/3 to 1/2 cup of filling in an oval shape near the rib edge of each leaf and roll up toward the outer edge, tucking the sides in as you roll. Place half the cabbage rolls, seam sides down, over the sauce. Add more sauce and more cabbage rolls alternately until you ve placed all the cabbage rolls in the pot. Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish tightly with the lid and bake for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked and the rice is tender. Serve hot.