Turkey Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

It seems like a few nationalities claim cabbage rolls as their own – Jewish, Polish, Slovak and Russian. Cabbage is a wonderful accompaniment on any plate; whether its raw, steamed, blanched, parboiled, or being wrapped into something to create a wonderful side, appetizer or main dish.

Jamaicans love cabbage, because its cost effective, its low in calories, packed with vitamins and nutrients, amino acids, and has anti-inflammatory properties, not to mention we cultivate it. So don’t be surprised if you purchase food from your local Jamaican eatery and get a spoon of it on the side of your plate. J

I first learned to make this divine, one pot dish from a family member, the cooking method is the same but over the years, I’ve tweak it abit, to cut back on the calories, but feel free to add in your favorite ground meat or chopped veggies, roll them up and enjoy.

Ingredients

1 head (medium) green cabbage    

1 lb ground turkey

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion (chopped)

½ bell pepper (chopped)

½ cup button mushroom (chopped)

1 stalk escallion (green onion)

1 teaspoon pepper flakes (optional)

1 tsp garlic powder    

1 tsp black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon sazon

½ teaspoon ground ginger    

½ teaspoon salt    

½ teaspoon dried celery  

1 can diced tomato (12 oz can Hunts basil, oregano & tomato)      

Directions:

Boiling Cabbage

There are 2 ways to boil the cabbage:

Either by cutting the whole head in half, (2 pieces) and removing the core, then boiling it with the leaves in tact or you can try removing the leaves and boiling them. (use method most comfortable)

1. Bring enough water to a boil, enough to cover the cabbage
2. Boil until leaves are pliable and soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Drain hot water; when leaves are cool enough to handle, cut off thickest part of vein from bottom of leaves, keeping leaves intact.

Prepping Turkey

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
2. Add ground turkey, and stir frequently until no longer pink.
3. Add chopped onions, escallion (green onion), mushrooms and peppers.
4. Stir in seasoning; salt, black pepper, paprika, pepper flakes, garlic powder, sazon, ginger and dried celery cover and let it sauté for about 7 minutes

Building Wraps

1. Place a small amount of turkey mixture (enough to fit in the palm of your hand) onto center of each leaf.
2. Fold in sides of leaves and then roll up tightly from one end to other, making sure filling is fully covered by leaf, repeat until all leaves are rolled up.

Bringing it all Together

1. Pour a small amount of tomatoes into a skillet so a thin layer covers bottom of pot. Place cabbage rolls in pot, packing them tightly to prevent opening during cooking; pour in remaining tomatoes and sprinkle top with fresh ground pepper and a pinch of salt.
2. Turn heat to medium-low, cover pot and let simmer for 15 minutes
3. Remove from heat and serve hot.