I am so glad that you liked yesterdays post and even happier that you are still reading ;)
I made some pretty darn good things over the weekend and I wanted to share them with you! Shelley, my coworker and friend is the sweetest and gives me some of the most beautiful produce I have ever seen. I mean that! I go to farmers markets all the time and they got nothin on Shell's garden givings. Just last week she gave me, tri-colored squash, the biggest napa cabbage I have ever seen (this thing was seriously 5 pounds, I should have done curls with them!), okra, a turnip of sorts kind of green along with a ton of butter lettuce and red leaf. I went to the farmers market and got fresh Basil, heirloom tomatoes, purple carrots, fresh spinach, shallots and garlic. I had the makings for a awesome dinner! Napa Cabbage Rolls with a side of stir fried garden veggies! I couldn't wait! Shelley gave me a Napa Cabbage to have the week before and I ate lettuce wraps the whole weekend. I knew that there had to be another way to eat this wonderful crunchy veggie than just raw and in salads. So I went out into the blog world to see what maybe some of you have done with your cabbage and found a idea that I wanted to implement. Baked cabbage rolls it was! I was surprised at how pretty they came out and it was fairly easy to put together. I made my own stuffing and sauce and set out to make a hot dish that would also taste great cold. I had success!
First I made the "stuffing".
1 cup quinoa, with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit. I wanted the quinoa to be cool before adding in the other veggies because I knew that I would be baking this dish and didn't want to over cook the veggies. After the quinoa cools add in 2 cups spinach, 1 chopped shallot, 2 carrots, 1 peach, 1/2 mango, 1 squash chopped fine, fresh basil (as much as you like). I then added in some fennel seeds, cardamon, cinnamon and curry powder. I didn't measure, just about a 1/2 teaspoon of each for a slight flavor. Mix all together and then get out the nappa cabbage!
Peach, Mango Quinoa Stuffing
Next you want to get out the cabbage and peel about 8 huge leaves and wash. Lay them on a flat surface and cut the ends off. I got a large spoon and just took the stuffing and spread it down the middle of the napa cabbage. Think like you are making a burrito! That is how I rolled these. Once rolled for presentation purposes (and I took the green part of some green onions and tied them around the cabbage rolls before placing them in the pan. There really isn't a need to tie them down. They are perfectly fine rolled and placed end side down.
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After I got them all ready I drizzled them with some balsamic vinegar and in the oven they went. I cooked mine for 35 minutes at 350. You may want to cook yours longer or shorter depending on your oven and how large your rolls come out!The final product:
This picture is kinda blurry...BUT you get the idea. I added some cilantro just for fun and scooped up the juices from the bottom of the pan for more flavor. This was soooooo good! This is a perfect meal or appetizer. The best part....I loved them COLD. It was so hot this morning that the thought of a hot meal was not appetizing at all, I tried the dish straight out of the fridge and it was perfect! I loved them hot, loved em cold. It was great!So next time you have a huge napa cabbage you now know that lettuce wraps is chopped up in your salad is not your only option!
See you tomorrow!
-Heather
