Both of my parents were born in Hungary, and, lucky for me, my Mom still loves to make Hungarian dishes. Stuffed Cabbage is a family favorite, especially in the colder months, and I’ve adapted my Mom’s recipe a little bit over time. If you decide to make the dish, be sure to set aside enough time (1-2 hours for prep, 4 hours or longer for cooking time). This is a great leftover meal, as it tastes better when reheated.

Paprika is a key ingredient in Hungarian cooking, so when using it, take the time to look for a good quality Paprika, preferably Hungarian. Hungarian Paprika is a little spicier than Spanish Paprika, and provides a wonderful color as well as needed flavor to the dish. Our local supermarket carries Hungarian Paprika in the spice aisle (Pride of Szeged Hungarian Paprika), and we buy a lot of our spices from Penzey’s – they have several varieties of Paprika, but I prefer to use the Hungarian Sweet.
Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 medium Green Cabbages
• 1 1/2 pounds Ground Beef
• 1 pound Ground Pork
• 1/4 cup non-instant Rice
• 1/4 pound Bacon, diced
• 1 medium sweet Onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons Flour
• 1 bag of fresh or one large can Sauerkraut
• 1 Green Pepper, diced
• 1Tomato, diced
• 4 tablespoons good quality Paprika, preferably Hungarian
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Sour Cream for garnish, if desired

Core cabbage(s). Bring enough water to a boil so that the entire cabbage will be emersed. Boil cabbage (one at a time if using two) for approximately 5 minutes or until leaves are starting to pull away from core. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled off, carefully remove green leaves until you reach the tougher white leaves. Do not use the white ones for rolling as they are difficult to fold, but roughly chop a few of them to add to the stock pot.

Parboil rice for 10 minutes. While the rice is cooking, combine ground beef, pork, 3 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl; mix well to incorporate salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, brown bacon in medium to large stock pot. Remove bacon and half of the grease that was rendered (discard grease). Add onions to remaining bacon grease and cook until translucent. Remove half of the onion mixture and add it along with the rice to the meat mixture; stir to incorporate the onions and rice. Add the flour to the remaining onion mixture in the stock pot and stir for a couple of minutes; this will help eliminate the flour flavor, but help to thicken the base. Add paprika and four cups of water. Stir and bring to a soft boil.

Rinse the sauerkraut in a strainer. Add the diced green pepper and tomato and gently toss to incorporate them together.

On a cutting board, trim off the tough stems of each cabbage leaf as shown in the picture below; this will make the rolling easier.

Put about a tablespoon (depending on the size of the leaf) of the filling into each leaf, and fold bottom to the middle, then each side into the middle, then roll leaf (will resemble an egg roll, as pictured below).

To assemble, put some of the leftover cut-up cabbage leaves into the bottom of the stock pot, then add a little of the sauerkraut mixture. Lightly salt and pepper contents in the pot.

Next, place cabbage rolls in a circle, and fill in gaps with the meatballs. Cover with more cut up cabbage leaves and another layer of the sauerkraut mixture. Lightly salt and pepper again. Continue until you are out of cabbage rolls and meatballs. Finish off with the sauerkraut mixture on top. Add enough water to barely cover mixture.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer/soft boil for at least 4 hours, as you are cooking raw pork. The longer you let it cook, the more flavor you will get out of the dish. Oftentimes, this dish is served with a dollup of sour cream. Enjoy!

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Up next: A soup that uses the left overs of this great casserole.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Wild Rice
• 2 Cups Heavy Cream
• 1 8 ounce container of Mushrooms (washed and quartered)
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Ground Celery Seed
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt or to taste.

Boil the wild rice in salted water for 45 – 60 minutes. You should cook the rice in excess water like boiling pasta; you don’t need to measure the water like you would normal rice. The rice will be done when most of the kernels split open.

Drain and mix the cooked rice with the rest of the ingredients and put in a buttered casserole dish, salt to taste. Note that if you are planning ahead you can refrigerate this overnight.

Bake for 45 – 60 minutes at 350 degrees

I am still amazed at the wonderful treasures we can find at our Farmer’s Market! Today, we scored a pint of the elusive ground cherry. What are those I asked? The vendor gave us a sample and went on to explain that it was something that her grandfather had always grown on the farm. These sweet little packages look like tiny tomatillos, but when the papery husk comes off they are yellow when ripe and are not sticky to the touch like a tomatillo is. The texture is like a small cherry tomato, but the taste is sweet and complex with hints of melon, tomato and strawberry. We kept on eating them trying to put a finger on what they reminded us of, and before we knew it we had burned though half of our stash. The vendor told us that they had used them in pies and jams, but I wanted to capture this unique flavor without cooking them.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pint of Ground Cherries, each one halved
• 1/4 Red Onion, diced
• 1/4 jalapeno, diced
• Cilantro, chopped
• Red Bell Pepper, diced
• Very *small* squeeze Lime Juice
• Roughly a teaspoon or two Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Very *small* pinch Salt

Mix everything together and let sit for 30 minutes so the flavors can come together. Do not overdue it with the salt or lime; the small amount of salt is only needed to draw out liquid from the cherries so they can macerate with the olive oil and lime juice.

We have been making this potato salad for about 4 years and it is very good. I like to use a combination of purple and red potatoes for a nicer presentation. Purple potatoes are slowly becoming more popular here, as they are showing up in our grocery store every so often, and they are even at our local Farmer’s Market. Be careful when cooking purple potatoes, as they are not as forgiving as red potatoes and can turn mushy very quickly if overcooked.

Ingredients:

• 12 – 14 Potatoes, combination of red and purple
• 1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced
• Cilantro leaves, roughly torn
• Toasted, salted Pine Nuts, for garnish

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup Mexican Table Cream (Crema Mexicana)
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
• Juice of one Lime
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Cilantro

Boil the potatoes for 15 – 20 minutes in salted water or until fork tender, and let them cool. Be sure to check the purple potatoes sooner as they cook quicker. I like to boil them whole with the skins on as I find they get less waterlogged. Also, I bring the water up to a boil with the potatoes in the pot to make sure they cook evenly.

Mix the dressing ingredients together.

You can leave the potato skins on or off; personally, I like to take them off. It is fairly easy to just peel them off now that they have been cooked. When the potatoes have cooled down, cut them in approximately 1 inch cubes (or whatever size you like) and carefully mix them with the dressing, onions, and the roughly chopped cilantro. You may not need all of the dressing so start with half and go from there. Be sure to taste, as chances are good that it will need a little more salt. Garnish with the toasted pine nuts and a little fresh cracked black pepper.

I had always made these with Yukon gold potatoes and recently tried this with russets and failed horribly! They turned to a gluttonous mush and stuck to the foil. Stick to the Yukon golds.

Ingredients:

• Yukon gold Potatoes
• Kosher Salt

Shred up the potatoes with the large side of your grater.  I like to leave the skins on but if you want to go through the extra effort to take them off, by all means do so.  Squeeze out any excess moisture in the potatoes by wringing them through a clean kitchen towel.  Spray the bottom of a sheet of heavy duty tin foil with oil and place potatoes on top. Season potatoes with salt. Spray top of potatoes with oil and cover the other side of potatoes with foil making a flat pouch.

Cook foil pouch over indirect heat for 15 minutes on one side.

Flip pouch over and place directly on grill for 5 minutes.

Open package up. Hash browns should be firm enough to be taken out of the pouch and placed directly on the grill. At this point, they should be pretty much done, but need to cook just a little longer in order to crisp up. Here is where the magic happens.  The  air is able to  circulate around the hash browns and make them very crispy.

Ingredients:

• 1 Mango, cut up
• 1 very ripe Plantain, cut up
• 1 jalapeno, cut up
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher Salt
• 1 tablespoon Butter
• Cilantro
• Juice of 2 oranges

Put the of all ingredients except the cilantro & orange juice in a foil pouch. Roast on indirect heat on the grill for 30 – 40 minutes. Add the contents of your foil pouch along with the cilantro & orange juice to a food processor and blend until smooth. Sauce will be thick like guacamole.

This sauce was served with Caribbean tacos.

Ingredients:

• 4 large fresh Tomatoes, quartered
• 1 quarter of an Onion, use larger pieces
• 2-3 table spoons Roasted Garlic Oil*
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Olive oil, for coating the tomatoes and onions
• 1/4 teaspoon of Crushed Red Pepper. (+ or – to your own liking)

*When I make roasted garlic I put a few table spoons of olive oil in a foil packet with a head of garlic and a little kosher salt. Instead of adding the roasted garlic in this sauce and olive oil, just use this garlic infused oil instead. Spread the roasted cloves over some grilled baguettes.

The tomatoes should be grilled until they are almost falling through the grates. As you take them off of the grill, try to discard the skins. Leave them on while grilling though, this helps them stay together.

In a food processor, blend everything together.

This makes an excellent sauce for pizza, pasta or a dipping sauce for bread.

A few notes and tips:

• Make sure you soak the grape leaves in water for at least 15 minutes otherwise they may be very salty. I kept them in water while i was rolling them. This also makes sure they stay moist.
• Try not to let the grape leaves get to dry before grilling them so they don’t burn and crumble.
• Don’t over cook the rice. I like to cook mine with a little bit of butter as this helps keep the grains separate. Fluff the rice a few times so it cools off nicely. You don’t want a big clump of glutinous rice.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Dried Cherries (unsweetened), chopped
• 1 small red Onion , minced
• 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, Finley chopped
• 1 cup diced [tag]Tomatoes[tag]
• 1-2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.
• 1 teaspoon Kosher [tag]Salt[tag]
• 1 pound of Ground Pork.
• 3 cups cooked Jasmine Rice, room temp
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Lemon Zest, from one lemon.
• 30 Brined Grape leaves, rinsed

Mix everything but the pork , grape leaves and half of the salt in a large mixing bowl. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning. If you want to go meatless you can skip the next step with the pork. Some kalamata olives would be great instead.

Combine the other half of the salt with the pork separately and mix the pork and the rice stuffing together. This just ensures that everything gets evenly seasoned.

Lay a grape leave flat and place a log of the stuffing on it. To roll it up, fold the back over first and then fold each side over.

Now just roll it up tight.

Place the stuffed grape leaves on the top rack of your grill with the seam side down. Cook them this way at ~400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cooked all the way through. There is raw pork in there so make sure it is completely cooked.

Flip them half way through the total cooking time.

You can serve them with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and touch of lemon juice over the top. I have also added some finely diced red pepper and fresh parsley.

Ingredients:

• About 12 Cherry Tomatoes
• 1 ripe Peach
• 1 slice of a Red Onion
• 1 tablespoon Honey
• Pinch of Kosher Salt
• 1 Serrano Pepper
• 1 tablespoon of Fresh Cilantro
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for brushing

Brush the tomatoes and peach with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place them all on a hot grill.

Never mind the picture of corn in there, that’s another story, but I did slip some in the salsa and it was great!

The peach will need to come off first after about five minutes.

The tomatoes and onions will come off after ten minutes of total grilling time. Give them all a nice charring. The times I give you are just an approximation, so go by what the food looks like, not your stop watch.

Blitz all of the ingredients in the food processor.

All done!

Ingredients:

• Tomatillos, about a dozen
• Anaheim Pepper
• jalapeno
• Onion
• Roasted Garlic
• Cilantro
• Juice of one Lime
• Salt to taste

If you have never used tomatillos, they have a papery husk on the outside. When you peel it off their skin is sticky until washed.

You need need to peel the tomatillos and rinse them with water with the peppers.

Coat the tomatillos, peppers & onions with olive oil. I normally just pour a little olive oil in a plastic bag with the veggies and shake it up and dump them out on the grill.

It’s okay to pretty much char them because you want that. The onions should be taken off the grill first since they have high sugar content and will burn quickly.

Peal the skin off of the anaheim pepper; it should slip right off. If you can’t get it all that’s okay, since a little charred skin adds nice flavor.

Whiz all of the ingredients in a food processor.

All Done!

Ingredients:
1 Avocado
2 spoonfuls of Fresh Tomato Salsa
Kosher Salt

Remove the outer skin and the seed of the avocado.

Mash the avacado with a fork, mix in the fresh salsa and season to taste with salt.

Ingredients:
8 Tomatoes
1/4 Red Onion
1 bunch Cilantro
1 Serrano Pepper
1 Lime
Salt
Sugar

The Ingredients….

Add the tomatoes to a food processor and blend until somewhat smooth. Place puréed tomatoes in a sieve or colander.

Squeeze out excess liquid. This step will prevent the salsa from becoming soupy when we add the lime juice.

Add the red onion, serrano and cilantro to the food processor and give it a whirl.

Pour the contents of the food processor into a bowl, and add pureéd tomatoes in as well. Add lime juice, then salt and sugar to taste. Mix by hand.

This will come to its full flavor when it has had time to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Ingredients:

• Bread (a nice crusty Loaf)
• Tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch slices
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fresh Basil
• Kosher Salt

Start with ½ cup of balsamic vinegar and reduce it down to 1/8 cup. It should be thick like syrup. Set aside to cool.

Brush the tomatoes and bread with the olive oil and season with kosher salt. The tomatoes should rest with the oil and salt for about 30 minutes before grilling.

Start to grill the tomatoes first. They should take about 10 -15 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is.

You want to get the tomatoes nice and charred.

The bread should take about 5 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is.

To finish this off, cut the grilled tomatoes in half and lay them on the grilled bread. Top with some fresh basil and a drizzle of the balsamic syrup.

Ingredients:

• 4 – 6 Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Softened Butter
• Kosher Salt
• Thinly sliced Prosciutto
• Finely chopped Parsley
• Grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh cracked Pepper

Lay a sheet of heavy aluminum foil out on a flat work surface; liberally coat the bottom with butter–do not skimp out on this step or the potatoes will stick. If you want to make sure the potatoes won’t stick to the foil, in addition to the butter, spray the foil with some Pam or brush with olive oil.
Slice the potatoes on a mandolin so they are about 1/8 of an inch thick, and lay them out as shown so they overlap a bit. Add a layer of the prosciutto, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Since the parmesan and prosciutto are somewhat salty, go light on the salt.

Add another layer of potatoes, filling , then top it off with another layer of potatoes. Brush the top with olive oil.

Liberally coat another sheet of aluminum foil with butter and cover the whole thing with the butter side down making a flat pouch. Place on indirect heat and cook for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Place the pouch directly on the grill and grill in the pouch for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, carefully open the pouch and slide the whole thing out directly onto the grate. Grill this way until brown and crispy flipping one time to get each side crispy.

Ingredients:

• 1 unripe (green) Plantain
• Olive oil
• Kosher Salt

First, take the peel off of the plantain. You will most likely not be able to peel it like a banana. Cut off each end, and use a sharp knife to cut off the peel part of the entire length of the plantain.

Cut the pealed plantain into 1 inch pieces, oil them, and place on a hot grill.

Give each side about 3 – 4 minutes with a quarter turn in the middle. We want to form a crispy crust on each side.

When they are nice and brown on each side, take them off the grill and flatten them with a glass or mallet (something with a smooth, flat surface).

Re-coat with olive oil and place them back on the grill until they are golden and crisp.

Hit them with salt and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Ingredients:

• Fresh Mozzarella, such as buffalo
• Cherry tomatoes
• French Bread, cut into chunks
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Place the bread, tomatoes and cheese onto the skewers and brush them with olive oil.

Place the skewers directly on a hot grill. Grill until the bread has started to toast and the cheese has started to melt, roughly 1 to 2 minutes.

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