Dolmas
When in Gothenburg, I had some scrumptious kåldolmar (stuffed cabbage rolls) at the Rover pub. They were made with what I think is called oxheart cabbage -- the cabbage head is smaller and sort of pointy, and the leaves are more tender and easily cooked than ordinary cabbage -- and filled with a mixture of mushrooms, spinach and ricotta cheese. I was given a nice salad and some asparagus instead of the risotto that usually went with the dish, and they didn't even grumble about it.
Well, having felt far too indolent for a couple of days, I decided to try and recreate these dolma. I didn't have any ricotta, but I did have mascarpone cheese and parmesan cheese. So I fried up a mixture of chopped mushrooms, chopped spinach (from the freezer, bad me), coarsely chopped pine nuts, the mascarpone, a couple of fistfuls of ground parmesan cheese, and a few spoons of almond flour to bind it all together (AND IN THE DARKNESS BIND THEM), and a bit of salt and pepper. Then I stuffed a whole head of oxheart cabbage into a pot of boiling water and parboiled it for about ten minutes. After that it was pretty easy to peel off one leaf after another and roll up a spoonful of the mixture in each. Stuck them all in an oven pan and added some (=LOTS) butter and put them in the oven for about half an hour on 200º. It didn't, of course, turn out exactly like the ones I had at the Rover, but they were nice enough. I made twelve rolls and ate two, so now I have nine left to stick in the freezer. They'll probably be great for packed lunches and picnics.
Trivia for non-Swedes: It is said that the dolma was brought to Sweden after the Swedish "Warrior King" Charles XII had spent almost six years moping in the Ottoman Empire after his defeat by the Russians at Poltava in the beginning of the 18th century and then finally returned to Sweden. Instead of vine leaves, as is the common practice in the middle east, the Swedes used the best thing at hand, which was cabbage leaves. Cabbage dolma, stuffed with mince and rice, are now a firmly rooted staple of the Swedish traditional cuisine.
This entry was originally posted at http://therru.dreamwidth.org/357452.html. Comments are read in either place.
Well, having felt far too indolent for a couple of days, I decided to try and recreate these dolma. I didn't have any ricotta, but I did have mascarpone cheese and parmesan cheese. So I fried up a mixture of chopped mushrooms, chopped spinach (from the freezer, bad me), coarsely chopped pine nuts, the mascarpone, a couple of fistfuls of ground parmesan cheese, and a few spoons of almond flour to bind it all together (AND IN THE DARKNESS BIND THEM), and a bit of salt and pepper. Then I stuffed a whole head of oxheart cabbage into a pot of boiling water and parboiled it for about ten minutes. After that it was pretty easy to peel off one leaf after another and roll up a spoonful of the mixture in each. Stuck them all in an oven pan and added some (=LOTS) butter and put them in the oven for about half an hour on 200º. It didn't, of course, turn out exactly like the ones I had at the Rover, but they were nice enough. I made twelve rolls and ate two, so now I have nine left to stick in the freezer. They'll probably be great for packed lunches and picnics.
Trivia for non-Swedes: It is said that the dolma was brought to Sweden after the Swedish "Warrior King" Charles XII had spent almost six years moping in the Ottoman Empire after his defeat by the Russians at Poltava in the beginning of the 18th century and then finally returned to Sweden. Instead of vine leaves, as is the common practice in the middle east, the Swedes used the best thing at hand, which was cabbage leaves. Cabbage dolma, stuffed with mince and rice, are now a firmly rooted staple of the Swedish traditional cuisine.
This entry was originally posted at http://therru.dreamwidth.org/357452.html. Comments are read in either place.