Lamb and Feta Cabbage Rolls

Roll away your stone; I’ll roll away mine.
Together we can see what we will find.
~ Mumford & Sons

I recently returned from my travels to Spain where I walked 161 miles in 11 days on the French route of El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James).  It was one of the most moving and profound journeys of my life.  I met people from all over the world each of us with the same goal ~ to arrive in Santiago de Compostela.  This common goal of ours led us to a unity that is met with very rarely in our everyday life.

This community of pilgrims was supportive and enthusiastic not only for their own journeys but the journeys of all the others.  The phrase most often heard on the Camino was “buen camino.”  It is translated as “good walk.”  It is usually said at the beginning of the day or when you come upon another pilgrim on the way.  Those two words bolstered you up and affirmed your unique place on this ancient path.  They were words that bound us together.

In our everyday lives, people can be so competitive.  Many times people view one person’s success as a hindrance to their own.  But, it is different on the Camino.  I roomed my first night with a lady from Siberia.  At a time when the politics of our two nations are pretty miserable, we never mentioned it.  It never occurred to me until I returned home and was able to reflect on our interaction.  All our talk was about our inner desires and motivations and what we considered the call of the Camino.  We strengthened each other’s resolve and encouraged each other during difficult days.  We saw each other without walls, without politics, and without rivalry.

This lesson from the Camino I want always to remember ~ to look at people knowing that we are all journeying to the same place, to encourage each one to that higher calling, and to drop rivalries and be an ally of the people in my life.

Now on to Lamb and Feta Cabbage Rolls!  This is one of my favorite meals.  It is cooked all in one pot and needs only a nice hunk of crusty bread to soak up all the delicious sauce to be complete.  This dish is so full of flavor and is deeply satisfying as well as nourishing.  Nutritious cabbage is stuffed with ground lamb, feta cheese and short grain rice and covered with an anise spiked tomato sauce that begs to be sopped up.  I do hope you will give this one a try!

*Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking magazine

Ingredients (Serves 8)

1 large head green cabbage, cored
1 lb. ground lamb
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large egg
1 cup crumbled feta
1/2 cup bomba rice or short-grain rice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 15-oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes (about 2 cups)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 cup of water
1/3 cup Anise liqueur

Instructions

Core a fresh cabbage. (I have found no easy way to do this. I stab around the core of the cabbage at about a 40º degree angle until I can pry the core out of it.) Remove a couple of the outer leaves.
Fill a pot with enough water to submerge the cabbage and bring to a boil over high heat.
Boil the cabbage until the outer leaves are bright green and can be pulled off fairly easily about 5 minutes.
Pull them off with tongs careful not to tear them and lay them on a kitchen towel.

I need a bigger pot! I just had to roll it around to insure it was getting cooked evenly.

Continue boiling the cabbage and removing its leaves. When all the leaves are collected, which usually takes about 20 minutes, let cool until easily handled.
In a large bowl, combine the lamb, onion, egg, feta, rice, parsley, oregano, lemon juice, cumin, fennel, 2-1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper.

    
With kitchen scissors, remove the hard ribs from the cabbage leaves. Cut the larger leaves in half lengthwise.
Pour olive oil into a Dutch oven.
Place a leaf long ways in front of you and put about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the lamb mixture on the end closest to you.
Fold the long sides in toward the lamb, and then roll away from you to enclose the meat.

Sorry for the blur. This is one of the larger leaves cut in half.

Place each roll in the pot seam side down. Try to make a single layer, but if necessary make a second layer. I had about six to go on a second layer.

Heat 1 cup of water to a boil and dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in it.
Combine the tomatoes, bouillon broth, and anise in a medium bowl and pour the mixture over the rolls.

  
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for about 75 minutes.

¡Enjoy!

Print

Lamb and Feta Cabbage Rolls

Nutritious cabbage is stuffed with ground lamb, feta cheese and short grain rice and covered with an anise spiked tomato sauce that begs to be sopped up.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author www.sanpasqualskitchen.com

Ingredients

• 1 large head green cabbage cored
• 1 lb. ground lamb
• 1 large yellow onion finely chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup crumbled feta
• 1/2 cup bomba rice or short-grain rice
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds crushed
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 15- oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes about 2 cups
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 cup of water
• 1/3 cup Anise liqueur

Instructions

• Core a fresh cabbage. (I have found no easy way to do this. I stab around the core of the cabbage at about a 40º degree angle until I can pry the core out of it.) Remove a couple of the outer leaves.
• Fill a pot with enough water to submerge the cabbage and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Boil the cabbage until the outer leaves are bright green and can be pulled off fairly easily about 5 minutes.
• Pull them off with tongs careful not to tear them and lay them on a kitchen towel.
• Continue boiling the cabbage and removing its leaves. When all the leaves are collected, which usually takes about 20 minutes, let cool until easily handled.
• In a large bowl, combine the lamb, onion, egg, feta, rice, parsley, oregano, lemon juice, cumin, fennel, 2-1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
• With kitchen scissors, remove the hard ribs from the cabbage leaves. Cut the larger leaves in half lengthwise.
• Pour olive oil into a Dutch oven.
• Place a leaf long ways in front of you and put about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the lamb mixture on the end closest to you.
• Fold the long sides in toward the lamb, and then roll away from you to enclose the meat.
• Place each roll in the pot seam side down. Try to make a single layer, but if necessary make a second layer. I had about six to go on a second layer.
• Heat 1 cup of water to a boil and dissolve the chicken bouillon cube in it.
• Combine the tomatoes, bouillon broth, and anise in a medium bowl and pour the mixture over the rolls.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for about 75 minutes.

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