Brown Rice, Walnut, and Dandelion Green Veg Sausage Wrapped in Cabbage Leaves with Tomato-Caper Sauce
- 1 cup short- or long-grain brown rice, preferably organic
- 2 1/3 cups water
- 1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup chopped dandelion greens
- 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large head cabbage (2 to 3 pounds)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large tomato, peeled and coarsely chopped, or 2 canned plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers, preferably salt packed, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon chopped lemon peel (not just the zest)
- Kosher salt
- To cook the rice, rinse it, place in a small saucepan, and add 2 cups of the water.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and decrease the heat to low.
- Cook until the water is absorbed and the rice is plumped, 40 to 45 minutes.
- Set aside off the heat with the lid still on and let steam dry for 10 minutes.
- To make the stuffing, bring a small saucepan filled with water to a boil over high heat.
- Add the onion and dandelion greens and blanch until the onion is translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the rice, walnuts, parsley, tomato paste, salt, and pepper, and knead with your hands until thoroughly blended.
- Set aside at room temperature.
- To prepare the cabbage leaves, bring a large pot three-fourths full of water to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Core the cabbage, place it in the pot, cover, and cook until the outer leaves are quite wilted, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Transfer the cabbage to a colander and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- One at a time, gently pull off the cabbage leaves.
- You should have about 12 leaves of varying sizes.
- Arrange the leaves, with the inside facing up and the stem end nearest you, on a work surface.
- Place about 1/4 cup of the stuffing in the center of each leaf.
- Fold up the bottom of the leaf over the stuffing, then fold in the sides and roll up the leaf to make a tight packet.
- Arrange the packets, seam sides down, in a single tight layer in a large saucepan.
- Pour the remaining 1/3 cup water into the pan around, not over, the packets, and place over high heat.
- Bring to a boil, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and cook until the cabbage is very tender, about 25 minutes.
- While the packets are cooking, make the sauce.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the tomato, garlic, capers, and lemon peel and stir to mix.
- Cook until just beginning to boil, then remove from the heat.
- Season with salt and set aside until ready to use.
- To serve, briefly reheat the sauce if desired.
- Arrange the cabbage packets on a platter and spread the sauce across the top.
longgrain brown rice, water, white onion, dandelion greens, walnuts, parsley, tomato paste, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, head cabbage, extra virgin olive oil, tomato, garlic, capers, lemon peel, kosher salt
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/brown-rice-walnut-and-dandelion-green-veg-sausage-wrapped-in-cabbage-leaves-with-tomato-caper-sauce-389552 (may not work)