Easy healthy Recipe: stuffed cabbage leaves and bulgur with almonds

I was never too fond of cabbage when I was young. But I loved my mother’s whole stuffed cabbage. The first time she made it she complained how fastidious and long it was to make.  You need to open the cabbage leave by leave and then fill it with stuffing and put back the leaves to reconstruct the whole cabbage  again. Crazy.At this time I was pretty young and did not cook. But when I had my first bite of this dish I remember as it was yesterday: it was full of flavors, tender, juicy and the cabbage/ meat in your palate was amazing. Then she kept making them once in a while. Few years later, I made my one stuffed whole cabbage when I was living in Paris I called my moms a few times for some tips and I remembered it was really good not as good as my mother and not as gorgeous as hers but I loved it.

Then few years later, in New York I tried to make it in our tiny kitchen apartment and it was  a disaster, the taste was plain, the cabbage shape was all deformed and I  decided that it was the last time I made one. I wanted to eat only my mother’s. But then since we do not visit my parents in France  too often and if we do so we travel to France only during summer I never taste my mom’s stuffed cabbage. Out of despair, I decided to make other attempt but this time using cabbage leaves only not the whole cabbage.
And it was a success. The leaves stay well together and the taste was really great. I added some cilantro in the stuffing.
Here is my recipe I hope you will enjoy as we did! I served them with buttered bulgur and sliced almonds. Delicieux.

Nutrition corner

As per Wikipedia Bulgur (also bulghur, burghul or bulgar) is a cereal food made from the groats of several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. It is most common in Europe, Middle Eastern, and South Asia cuisine. The word bulgur is of Turkish origin

This Middle Eastern staple sounds more exotic than it is; bulgur is what’s left after wheat kernels have been steamed, dried, and crushed. This cereal grain has been a food staple for years because it offers an inexpensive source of low-fat protein, making it a wonderfully nutritious addition to your low-calorie meal plan.

High in fiber and protein, and low in fat and calories, bulgur is another food that offers bulk and nutrients to fill you up without adding pounds. One thing to keep in mind, a cup of bulgur has fewer calories, less fat, and more than twice the fiber of brown rice.

Cabbage is an excellent source of vitamin K and vitamin C. It is also a very good source of fiber, manganese, and folate. Cabbage is also a good source of molybdenum, vitamin B6, potassium, thiamin (vitamin B1), and calcium.

Cabbage and its anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids=  ( source http://health.howstuffworks.com)

Bon Appetit mes Amis

Stuffed Cabbage leaves

Make 6-8 Stuffed leaves

one small-medium cabbage ( you will have leftover for Cabbage soup recipe to follow soon)
cilantro one handful
2 Pork sausages (I used one sausage bangers and sausage linguisa)
2 garlic cloves
1 small onion diced, divided
olive oil
salt
pepper/ or Espelette pepper
1 small zucchini sliced
1 cup bulgur
1/4 cup sliced almonds
butter
broth

1. Detached very carefully eight leaves from the cabbage try to leave them whole not breaking them .Place eight cabbage leaves in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Saute half onion in olive oil, add salt and pepper and zucchini and cook until soft, add one clove garlic. Set aside.
3. In a food processor place cilantro, and onion/zucchini/garlic mixture and pulse until chopped.
4. Open the two extremities of the sausages and place the meat in a bowl.
5. Add the herb/zucchini  mixture and mix well with a fork.
6. Take each cabbage leave and lay down on a working surface with a full tablespoon place the the stuffing in the middle of the leave roll and close like a package with a cooking cooking string.
7. Do the same for the remaining leaves and stuffing. Set aside
8. Meanwhile, in boiling salted water cook the bulgur until soft/al dente. Drain and add butter mix well.
9. In a saucepan sauteed stuffed cabbage leaves  in butter, turn them on each side until golden add chicken or vegetable broth. and cook for thirty -forty minutes.
10. When the bulgur is soft/ al dente drain and mix in butter, add almonds.
11. Place the bulgur on a serving plate and top with the stuffed cabbage leaves
12. Eat immediately

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