Paleo Brat Cabbage Rolls

Awhile back I made some traditional cabbage rolls, though ever since I sort of imagined my ideal cabbage roll as something more like a bratwurst-potato/cauliflower-kraut filled wrap. Yum. I finally got around to making it happen! And I have to say, they turned out delicious. I actually was really excited to eat them with some horseradish and sour cream because then the rolls tasted a little like pierogi. I have not had anything minutely resembling piergoi in a really long time, so i was a bit ecstatic. The rolls are also great with kraut loaded on top. I served these with some roasted beets (which I also ate with generous spoonfuls of horseradish and sour cream).

Brat Cabbage Rolls
1 head cauliflower
1 lb. bratwurst (mine was ground, but you can just remove the casing of links)
1 large onion, chopped
3 T fat substance (bacon fat, ghee, butter, coconut oil)
1 large head of green cabbage
Stone ground mustard
1/4 c. broth (or water)

Start by chopping your cauliflower up in big chunks and tossing it with 1/2 of your coconut oil substance. Layer it on a cake pan and put it in the oven at 375 to start roasting. You will need to flip/stir these every 10 minutes, and they should be nice and roasted and browned after about 25 minutes.

While the cauliflower roasts, fill a large pot with a couple of inches of water and set it on heat. Take your cabbage head and remove the core: I just cut a square into the cabbage at an angle so the sides all meet and I can pull out the cone shaped hunk of core. Set the cabbage (core side down) in the pot. You can also use a big steamer basket if you have one that is big enough. Cover the pot and let the cabbage steam. After about 10 minutes you should be able to remove several outer cabbage layers - set those aside to cool/drain, and return the cabbage head to the steamer to keep getting additional layers softened. Continue until you have 10-12 leaves.

While the cauliflower and cabbage are trucking along, heat the rest of the oil/fat in a large skillet or heavy pot. Saute the onions for a few minutes to soften before adding in the bratwurst. Cook for another 10 minutes until meat is browned.

When the cauliflower is finished, chop up the pieces in the pan so that they are small and consistent with the onion/brat mix. Add the cauliflower to the brat and onion, and salt and pepper to taste. A little caraway is also tasty in there. This is now the filling for the cabbage rolls.

Fill each cabbage leaf with filling (I generally err on the side of less filling, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup, depending on the size of the leaf) and a generous dollop of mustard. I have found it easiest to wrap the cabbage leaves this way: set your leaf rib side facing you with the leafy edge on top. Put filling in center. Use the ribbed bottom to cover the filling and sort of scoop it back in on itself. Fold the sides in, and then finish rolling so that the top part of the leaf covers everything.

Set the cabbage rolls in a large (coverable) baking dish (or cake pan that you will cover with tin foil). You can layer the rolls in several layers if you want, or just do one. Pour the broth over the top of the rolls and bake, covered, at 375 for 30 minutes.

Serve with saurkraut, horseradish, and sour cream.

Bavarian Cream soup

Hello long lost bloggies! I hope everyone is having a nice start to 2012. I honored the coming of the new year by making my fave winter soup - which I promptly froze up and have been eating for lunches for the past two weeks! It is another recipe from the Schumacher cookbook, and the sidebar of this recipe says that it was a favorite at the restaurant. It is rich and creamy (of course!) with a vinegar-y sort of punch. And there are tons of veggies. And a little bacon. I was especially excited to use up some of the green beans frozen in my freezer - we are midway to spring here! I modified this recipe a little: I used GF flour for the roux, I used buckwheat instead of barley, and I only made the amount of roux I needed (whereas Schumacher has you make a batch and freeze the extra).

FYI: It takes a significant chunk of time, maybe 2 hours to make this soup. So be prepared with a snack or something if you are trying to make it for dinner!

Serves 8-10
1/4 lb. bacon, diced 1/4"
2 cloves minced garlic
2 c. onions, diced 1/2"
1 c. carrots, diced 1/2"
1 quart crushed whole tomatoes
1 quart beef stock
1 c. tomato puree
1/3 c. barley or buckwheat groats
1 t. marjoram
1 t. basil
1 t. caraway seeds
2 T. worcestershire (generally not GF; i made up something similar)
1 c. potatoes, diced 1/2"
2 c. cabbage, cut 1" long by 1/4" wide
1 c. zucchini, diced 1/2"
1 c. fresh green beans, cut 1" long
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 quart heavy cream sauce* (see below: you need milk, butter, and flour)
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. salt (I needed way more b/c my homemade stock was not salted)

Heavy Cream Sauce *This got a little tricky because I don't have a scale, but it's roux...it is forgiving. And I accidentally only had 1/2 qt of heavy cream, so I made due.
1 quart milk or half and half
6 oz roux

To make the roux, you use equal parts butter and flour (be weight, so use a little extra flour if you are measuring). Melt the butter in a saucepan, and than whisk in the flour. For this recipe he wants a dark roux - so keep stirring and heating for at least 5 minutes. (The photo here is early on - a light roux.) He actually recommends that you put the pan in the oven at 375 for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes, which gets really dark - but I think you could follow these easy youtube instructions for a similar effect. The roux thickens and flavors the soup - apparently a common technique in Creole and French cooking. And it makes appearances on Top Chef, so you know that equals fancy.

Render bacon brown in a sauce pot. Add garlic and onions, celery and carrots, and saute until onions are clear. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring lightly. Add stock, tomatoes, tomato puree, spices, worcestershire, and barley and simmer for one hour. Then add potatoes, cabbage, zucchini and beans. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add heavy cream sauce, and blend well. Add vinegar, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve hot in bowls or mugs with a generous dollop of sour cream.

Bohemian Cucumber Soup with Shrimp

I've avoided eating shrimp for awhile due to some idea in my head that sustainably caught shrimp is hard to come by. This soup recipe (featuring about-to-be-abundant-cucumbers) got me curious though, so I did a little more research to find out the real deal. I found Seafood Watch (referred by Michael Pollen), an AMAZING resource about all kinds of seafood farming and fishing practices, mercury levels, and a sustainability rating system. (Check out the trout page for interesting Great Lakes info.) As it turns out, the Seward carries uncooked shrimp farmed in Thailand, which is rated in the "good alternative" category, as is their larger, wild-caught shrimp from Mexico. Maybe Coastal has something rated "Best Choice" - which is SeafoodWatch's top rating...

This chilled soup recipe comes from the Schumacher cookbook which features all kinds of Central European dishes. The recipe is easy to make, fast-ish, and really nice for the hot weather. I also think the shrimp could be easily and tastily replaced by tofu (lightly flavored and baked or fried, then chilled). I do think it would be best as a starter course to another dish...some other Bohemian something or other, perhaps. In my case it went with some sliced up beets from the garden and brats. All were consumed in the appetite-facilitating, air-conditioned bedroom (as opposed to the 91 degree rest-of-the-house, which seems to suppress my hunger)!

Serves 4-8 depending on serving size.
1 large cucumber (4 oz)
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 pints buttermilk
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 c plain yogurt
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 T plus 2 t dill pickle juice
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t dry mustard
1/4 t salt
pinch white pepper
1 T fennel seed
1 T chopped fresh dill
6 oz cooked popcorn shrimp*
1 t fresh lemon juice
2 hard boiled eggs
2 T green chopped onions
*I used the bigger shrimp and cut it into small pieces.

1. Make your hard-boiled eggs.
2. Cook the shrimp by placing them in a saucepan with 2/3 c cold water and lemon juice; bring to a fast boil. Remove from heat and set in fridge to cool (keeping liquid).
3. Peel and split the cuke lengthwise; scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Dice the cucumber, sprinkle with salt, and set in a strainer to sweat/drain for 30 minutes. (I was too impatient and did not wait this long!)
4. In a blender or food processor, mix 1/2 pint buttermilk, Worcestershire, yogurt, garlic, pickle juice, drained cucumber, nutmeg, mustard, salt and pepper, and blend for one minute. Pour into a bowl, add dill, fennel, and remaining buttermilk, and refrigerate.
5. When everything is cool enough for your liking, mix the shrimp and liquid with the buttermilk base. Serve with chopped eggs and green onions for garnish.
*Schumacher notes that this soup takes some moderate care and only keeps for about 48 hours. So eat up.