Cabbage Rolls

In the spirit of Christmas, I present to you a wrap worthy of setting under the tree! And if complicated bows and perfect creases aren’t your thing, well, just think of it as a cabbage gift-bag instead. Either way, their eyes are going to light up with surprise at what this package holds.

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But before I get too ahead of myself, let’s start by heating up a little oil and sauteeing 1 diced onion together with 3 cloves of minced garlic.

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Once they’re translucent, sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

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Then mix in 1 pound of ground beef, breaking up the pieces gently as you stir.

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Now here comes the unexpected ingredient: dates! Six of them, to be specific. These sweet and chewy fruits are kind of like moister, monster raisins. If your regular store doesn’t carry them, you should be able to find them at any Indian market. The most common species sold in the US is the Medjool variety, but for this recipe any kind will do. If yours are not already pitted, make sure to cut a slit from top to bottom with a sharp knife and pry the pit out. They’re very large, you won’t be able to miss it.

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Dice up the dates into small pieces, and add them to your beef mixture when it has just a small amount of pink still showing.

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While the beef finishes cooking, prepare your cabbage leaves. First, chop off the bulk of the stem at the bottom. Of course you could just as easily put this filling in a regular GF tortilla or spring roll wrapper, if you’re not that into cabbage. But I really recommend you try the cabbage at least once. You’ll be surprised at how well it holds its shape without the help of a toothpick, and how little it tastes like cabbage when it’s presented in this form. We’re big fans of vegetables that don’t taste like vegetables, around here.

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You’ll still have some amount of stem remaining, of course, since the stem basically goes all the way up the middle, but you should now have several leaves that are no longer attached at the bottom, and can be peeled off the main body.

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Chop off more stem as necessary to free more leaves, until you have about 8 large, untorn wrappers ready to use. Boil them in a large pot of water until they are soft and somewhat transparent, about 3-5 minutes.

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Lay out a leaf with the main rib oriented to one side (rather than the top or bottom,) and drop a large spoonful of your meat mixture into the center.

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Roll the bottom edge upward, and tuck each side in as you get about halfway up.

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Once you’ve wrapped up each one, toss them in a 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes, just to warm them through and dry out any extra liquid. No need for a dipping sauce, since the dates make the filling nicely sweet. And hey, even if your kids can’t handle the cabbage leaves, I guarantee you they will like the mixture in some other kind of wrapping. It’s the thought that counts.

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Happy Holiday Eating!

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Cabbage Rolls

1 onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb. ground beef
6 dates, pitted
8 cabbage leaves