Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Daring Cooks October, 2010 Challenge: WE ARE ON A ROLL!

Our October 2010 hostess Lori of Lori's Lipsmacking Goodness, has challenged the Daring Cooks to stuff grape leaves. Lori chose a recipe from Aromas of Aleppo and a recipe from The New Book of Middle Eastern Cuisine.
As much as I would have loved to try making dolmades or stuffed grape leaves, I couldn't find the time to comb through Manila looking for the elusive packed grape leaves that I may or may not find. But seeing the other Daring Cooks in my situation found stuffing cabbage leaves as much fun--I proceeded to do the same.
Lori gave as a lot of freedom with this challenge by allowing us to make our own filling. So to go with the cabbage leaves, I chose to make my mine Asian.
FILLING:
Ground Beef 250 grams
Dried Shrimps (hibe), pound finely 30 grams
Uncooked Rice 50 grams
Garlic, minced 2 cloves
Red Onions, minced 1/2 piece
Carrots, minced 1 piece
Salt
Pepper
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Mix until blended. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Cabbage Leaves 1 small head
Carefully peel off the layers making sure they are not torn. Discard first two layers. Boil water and blanch the leaves for 1 minute until just pliable. Lay out on a tray, and finish all the leaves.
Assembly:
Lay one blanched cabbage leaf, roll out a small log of the filling. Carefully roll the cabbage, folding the sides as you go. Lay the rolled leaves packed tightly together in a plastic container and freeze overnight.
Thaw for 10 minutes. Lay them in a pot close together with the seam side down and fill the spaces with carrots. Aside from adding flavor, the carrots will keep the cabbage rolls from unraveling. Fill with chicken stock just enough to cover the rolls. Add in dried chilis. Weigh down with a plate and cook for 40 minutes.
After cooking for 40minutes. I carefully took out the cabbage rolls and set them aside on a plate. I simmered the stock and adjusted the seasoning with salt and pepper. When I was satisfied with the taste, I took out the chilis. I poured the sauce into a blender and pureed the carrots. Then I added the pureed sauce to the cabbage rolls--the sauce took on the orange color of the carrots and made the cabbage rolls more tasty.

I would have to say that cabbage rolls are a revelation to me. I've never made this before and was pleasantly surprised that it was delicious. I brought them to work and ate them for lunch and had more than enough for the next day!


Thank you for this challenge Lori! I really had fun with it and I discovered a new way of cooking cabbages. I may have to hunt down the elusive grape leaves and try making dolmades :)

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Good job. It looks great.

Joyti said...

I havent had dinner yet, and your rolls sound delicious!

Mary said...

These look wonderful! I especially like the idea of using the carrots to hold the rolls together and then to make a colourful sauce. I have only used dried shrimp to make Japanese dumplings, but now I think I'll try them in other recipes.

Audax said...

WOW that last photograph is superb and wonderful to hear that you liked so much. Well done on this challenge, cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

FabFrugalFood said...

Such a great idea to add the shrimp! These look Yummy!

Jenni said...

Your cabbage rolls look wonderful! The carrot sauce was such a great idea! So colorful! Great job!

shelley c. said...

Those look great! I definitely want to try this one again with cabbage. I love that you used the carrots, too - they added such great color. Really great job!

Lori said...

You are welcome and I am so glad you enjoyed it. I think that what DB and DC are all about. Putting yourself out there. SOmetimes we are surprised and sometimes we are disappointed by taste. So glad you found something new in the culinary world. Beautiful photos- excellent job!

Anonymous said...

Those look delicious - I love how utilized the carrots and broth to make a sauce in the end. Genius! I would like to try these again with cabbage - yours just look so fresh and inviting!

Monkeyshines in the Kitchen said...

Your cabbage rolls are beautiful! the shrimp filling is a great twist to what is usually a heavy dish here in the states. Great job!

Suz said...

They look so tasty and tender and beautiful and colourful! Great job. I'm drooling. :D

Evelyne CulturEatz said...

Fabulous job on the cabbage rolls and glad they were new to you. Maybe an occasional staple now.

pigpigscorner said...

Not a huge fan of dolma myself so I used cabbage. Yours look great esp with the dried shrimps! yum!

Ruth H. said...

Your rolls look beautiful. The colors are so vibrant! If I try these again I will be using cabbage... Great job on this challenge! I love seeing your creativity every month!

blepharisma said...

These cabbage rolls look really great! I've never had them with shrimp & chile before. So fun!

Marisa said...

I think this is such a great way to use cabbage (not my favourite veggie). The shrimp in your filling sounds amazing!

Valérie said...

Your rolls look great! I love the colour of your sauce. Nice job!

FamilySpice said...

The cabbage rolls look so good! I made my dolmeh with grape leaves and I think I have found several cabbage roll recipes I must try next!

Anonymous said...

Very nice rolls! Well done.

justforlicks said...

Your cabbage rolls look so pretty. I love the colors. Very creative using shrimp and carrot sauce.

Koci said...

What a cool idea to use cabbage! These look delicious!

Olive said...

yummy-looking cabbage rolls! :)thanks for the tip on using carrots, I will keep that in mind :)

Maria Beatrix said...

Beautiful rolls. I liked the idea of adding shrimps to it. Great job. I should give your recipe a try

Lisa said...

OMG - beef and dried shrimp stuffed cabbage! This is bookmarked! I only hope mine turn out as gorgeous as yours (love the carrot sauce), although it doesn't matter if they don't, as I KNOW they taste amazing! Fantastic and creative take on the challenge!!

Barbara Bakes said...

I'm wishing I'd tried cabbage rolls. Great job!