I’m calling it now: Eastern European food is going to gain popularity in 2015.

I know it doesn’t appear on any of the major food trend prediction lists, but whatever. Think about it: Asian food is getting tired and it’s time to move on to a new continent. Home cooks are getting more and more used to things like pickling, brining, and fermenting. It’s about time for comfort food to make a comeback. Plus, I’ve been craving mushroom strogonoff and pierogi and golabki like a mad-woman.

Stuffed cabbage definitely isn’t something I grew up eating. I don’t remember my Mom making it… well, ever. And the first time I heard the word “golabki” was after Shawn and I started dating, when we went to a bazar at the Polish church down the street from his house. I’d be honest: I thought they concept sounded totally gross (I’m pretty sure I watched him eat them while I enjoyed a funnel cake.)

Now, I love them and I can’t believe I missed out for all those years! Golabki are basically just meatballs that are wrapped in cabbage leaves and baked in a very mild tomato sauce. They aren’t strong or super cabbagey at all, they’re really mild and balanced. Stuffed cabbage rolls are just the kind of comfort food that I crave this time to year.

They do take a while to make (I like to thinking of making them as a good excuse to spend a Sunday afternoon at home) but they freeze really well, so I like to make a big batch. This recipe makes 12 servings, which will last us all year.

If you run out of cabbage and have extra filling – or if you’re just feeling a little lazy – you can also make stuffed cabbage meatballs! Instead of rolling the filling into cabbage leaves, shred the cabbage and mix it right into the filling. They’re every bit as delicious as the rolls!

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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Golabki)

Savoy cabbage, with it's looser structure and softer leaves, is much easier to work with than green cabbage, but either will taste great. Alternative method: To make stuffed cabbage meatballs, follow the directions as described below, but shred the cabbage and mix it into the meat and barley mixture instead of stuffing each leaf. Roll into 2-inch meatballs and bake in the sauce for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Calories 200kcal

Author Lauren Keating

Ingredients

• 1 head savoy or green cabbage
• 1 ½ cups water
• ½ cup barley
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 celery rib minced
• 1 parsnip shredded
• 2 carrots shredded
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• ½ pound ground pork
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 can 28 ounces whole peeled plum tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Instructions

• Using a sharp knife, remove the core from the cabbage. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; boil the whole cabbage for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the cabbage from the pot and pat dry. Let cool.
• Add 1 1/2 cup water and the barley to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, Cover and cook 30 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the barley is tender.
• In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the onion; cook 1-2 minutes, or until softened. Add the celery, parsnip and carrot; sauté 5 minutes, or until softened. Remove the vegetables from the heat. Stir in the beef, pork, and coked barley. Season with nutmeg and salt.
• Heat the oven to 350ºF.
• Carefully remove the leaves from the cabbage (you'll need 24 whole leaves). Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling onto each cabbage leaf; fold the top and bottom of the leaf around the filling, then roll it to completely surround the filling (like rolling a burrito.) Place seam-side down in a casserole pan.
• In a food processor or blender, puree the tomatoes and vinegar. Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls.
• Bake for 1 hour.

Notes

1 serving = 2 cabbage rolls

Nutrition

Calories: 200kcal | Protein: 19.9g | Fat: 4.3g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Fiber: 5.3g

Shawn and I eat at my parents’ house so I don’t usually have leftovers to deal with. I wish that I did! I wouldn’t turn them into something else though – I’d just eat Thanksgiving dinner again and again until they were gone. Or at least until all that was left as turkey, which I’d throw into a big pot of soup or cassoulet.

Ok, I’d do something with the carrots. They seem to be a staple at every holiday meal, but I don’t know if anyone actually eats them, so they’re usually left over in massive quantities. (Why would you when there are so many other amazing vegetables, like roast Brussels sprouts with cranberries, to choose from or when you can just fill up on stuffing?) They’re boring enough the first time around, but reheated? They’d probably just get shoved to the back of the fridge where I’d forget about them until trash night.

These whipped carrots are delicious enough to make in their own right, but if you have leftovers to start from you’re already halfway there! Just throw them into the blender with some coconut milk and whip them until they’re nice and smooth (it only takes a few seconds), then top them with sriracha butter that’s spicy enough to balance out the sweetness of the carrots without being super hot.

These whipped carrots definitely have an Asian influence, but they’re pretty versatile. Try them with roast chicken thighs (or leftover turkey) or a piece of grilled fish for an easy and healthy weeknight meal.

Ratatouille is one of my favorite summertime dishes – the richly layered stew of vegetables is a great way to take advantage of the abundant produce that’s available this time of year. It’s simple to make and incredibly versatile: toss it into pasta, serve it over soft polenta, stir into an omelet, or pile it onto a pita for an impromptu pizza.

Serving ratatouille in a crêpe is something I never would have thought of on my own – the whole concept of savory crêpes is pretty new to me – so you can thank Sara Moulton for this one.

Sara is going to be the keynote speaker at the Food and Wine Conference later this month and this week the #SundaySupper crew is sharing recipes inspired by hers. (I unfortunately can’t attend the conference and I have to admit that I’m a little jealous of my friends who will be there – Sara is one of the first chefs I remember watching on television and I love her straightforward, simple style of cooking.)

Instead of cooking the ratatouille on the stove, Sara came up with the idea of roasting the vegetables. Roasting them concentrates their flavor and makes the ratatouille extra delicious. Plus, you get to add roasted garlic to it, which doesn’t even compare at all to regular old garlic. Although it only takes a few minutes of actual work, roasting the dish does mean that this take a little longer than normal to prepare. Luckily, it’s easy to split to work over two days by making the ratatouille one night and filling the crêpes the next.

If you don’t like goat cheese, try it with feta or mozzarella!

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Ratatouille Crêpes

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author Lauren Keating

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant stem end cut off
• 2 medium zucchini trimmed
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 large plum tomatoes quartered
• 1 large red bell pepper quartered
• 1 large onion quartered
• 1 head garlic
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• ½ cup shredded fresh basil
• 4 ounces goat cheese chrevre, crumbled
• 6 prepared crêpes 9-inch

Instructions

• Cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes and the zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss with 2 teaspoons salt and place in a large colander. Set a plate on top and place the colander inside a large bowl or in the sink. Set aside at room temperature and drain for 30 minutes. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and gently squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
• Heat the oven to 450°F. Add the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion in a shallow roasting pan large enough to fit all of the vegetables in one flat layer. Cut a 1/4-inch slice off the root of the head of garlic and place the garlic in the center of a large square of foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Bring up the corners of the foil and crimp to seal tightly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over the vegetables and add the thyme; season with salt and pepper and place in the oven with the wrapped garlic on the oven rack next to the roasting pan. Roast, stirring often, until the onions are browned around the edges and the peppers are crinkly, about 45 minutes.
• Transfer the roasted vegetables to a large bowl and cool. Unwrap the garlic and cool. Finely chop the vegetables; stir in the basil. Pull the garlic apart and squeeze the pulp from the individual cloves onto the vegetables; stir well. Crumble in the goat cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Spoon about 1/2 cup of ratatouille into each crepe. Serve at room temperate or place on a baking sheet and crisp in a 350°F oven for 30 minutes.