Stuffed Cabbage (Malfouf)
1 head of green cabbage (20 leaves)
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1 small onion (1 cup chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (mash the mint and garlic together)
This is one of my favorite dishes as a kid. I know I say this a lot… but when it comes to middle eastern food, my heart just melts. The other day I was craving this and asked my mom to come over and cook this with me. It's a bit time consuming, having to roll each leaf at a time (totally worth it mind you), so having someone to roll these yummy little guys with makes it more fun. Also I had never made this recipe before/wanted to learn/kinda made her do it all, so her help was much appreciated!
Boil a large pot of water. Carefully tear off a leaf at a time from the head of cabbage. Boil the cabbage leaves in the water for 5 minutes. Once tender, strain, dry with a paper towel, and let the leaves cool in a bowl.
For the filling, in a bowl mix together the meat, rice, spices, and oil using you hands till everything is evenly mixed.
Once leaves are cool enough to handle, take one leaf at a time and cut the thick stem in the middle of the leaf making two pieces of leaves. Take a call spoonful of the filling and place it at the end of the leaf, length wise. Roll and fold the leaf like a mini burrito. Repeat this until all the leaves, and filling is done. This should make about 35 stuffed cabbages. Keep in mind some leaves may not have a thick stem/vein in the middle, usually the small leaves. In that case use the whole leaf.
Set aside all your rolled up stuffed cabbage leaves.
In a medium pot, heat up the veggie oil on medium heat. Sauté the chopped onions in the oil till golden, then add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, lower the heat, and cook with the onion and garlic for another two minutes. Add the pomegranate molasses and cook for another minute on low heat. Turn off heat.
One roll at a time place over the onion tomato mixture in the pot. Place all the rolls creating two layer. Add the lemon juice, and 1 1/2 cups of water, or enough to cover all the rolls, cover the pot, and turn on the fire to high. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.
Turn off the heat and add the mint, garlic mixture. Cover the pot and let sit for a couple minutes. When serving, add a dollop of yogurt topped with dried or fresh mint on the side. Enjoy!
