I met an Armenian girl at a vertical farming tour in Brooklyn. She told me about her national dish and it reminded me of the cabbage rolls my mom made when I was young. This took a while to research to figure out some consensus on the internet on how to make these. I found this recipe on a site called dish-away. I think a second try at these would result in a much better outcome although these were good. Mainly lacking salt. All the great seasonings in the filling weren’t that strong probably because I cooked them in water with some salt and lemon. Other people have said that the broth needs to be rich and flavorful to turn out right. I will remember for next time. The tabbouleh was perfect though!
Cabbage Roll Recipe
1 large cabbage
3 heads of garlic, keep the skin on the garlic cloves
¼ cup lemon juice (if you like a strong lemony flavor increase to taste)
1 ½ teaspoon salt (adapt to taste)
6-7 cups water
Cabbage Roll Filling:
250 grams ground beef
2 ½ cups uncooked medium-grain rice
2 ½ teaspoons mixed spices ( I used an Arabic spice blend)
1 ½ teaspoon allspice
1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
5 large cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced or very finely chopped
2 ½ teaspoons salt (I thought this wasn’t enough)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (canola, corn or sunflower)
Fresh savory, marjoram and basil and some tomato paste were also added but not sure of the amounts. Must have gotten those from another recipe source.
How to make stuffed cabbage rolls
Preparing the cabbage leaves:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Wash the head of cabbage and remove two layers of the outside leaves.
With a knife, cut around the core of the cabbage loosening it. Immerse cabbage in boiling water and removed softened leaves as it cooks.
Mix filling ingredients together and roll into soft cabbage leaves that have had the tough stem removed.
Use extra cabbage pieces to line the bottom of the large pot.
Place rolls in the pot on top of the cabbage layer. Keep rolling until all the leaves are finished.
As you are arranging the rolls in layers, spread the unpeeled garlic cloves in between the cabbage rolls.
Cover the rolls with a ceramic or glass plate. The plate presses the rolls down and keeps them from moving while cooking. Mix 6 cups water with the salt and lemon juice and pour over the cabbage rolls. I would add seasoning and some tomato sauce to make a richer broth to cook them in as I have seen other recipes on the internet suggest. If the water they cook in lacks flavor the rolls will taste bland even with all the spices that are in the meat mixture.
Water should be just above the cabbage. If the water is not enough, add more.
Open fire and bring the mixture to boil, taste the water to see if it need additional salt. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30-40 minutes until well cooked.
Tabbouleh Recipes:
(one has extra spices, one has cucumber, 2 have scallions, no cucumber, use these as a guide)
3 tablespoons (30g) fine bulgur
3 medium (600g) firm ripe tomatoes, diced into small cubes
2 (50g) spring onions or scallions, trimmed and very thinly sliced
14 ounces (400g) flat-leaf parsley, most of the stalks discarded, leaves washed and dried
2 cups (20g) mint leaves (no stems), washed and dried
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (or Lebanese seven-spice mixture)
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
salt to taste
juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
2/3 cup (150ml) extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fine bulgur
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup boiling-hot water
2 cups finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (from 3 bunches)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint
2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 seedless cucumber*, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup fine bulgur wheat
1 small garlic clove, minced (optional)
Juice of 2 large lemons, to taste
3 cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (from 3 large bunches)
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
½ pound ripe tomatoes, very finely chopped
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
I used curly parsley but looks like flat leaf is the traditional way. I didn’t use cucumber in mine and didn’t have the extra spices but will try next time since I own a jar of arabic spices now from Kalustyans. I bought the white mustache yogurt there too and it blew my mind. Their hummus was good and also picked up these pizza like bread things covered in spicy seasoned meat. Those tasted great with the yogurt, hummus and tabbouleh.
Above are pictures of the process making Tabbouleh. Below is the preparation of the Dolma.
