Stuffed Cabbage (Mehchi Malfouf)

A small girl asked her mother, “Mum where did I come from?” Her mother answered, “I found you in a cabbage”. This little girl believed her mother until she grew up and had her own children. Surprise surprise, it wasn’t a cabbage that brought them! That little girl was me, and as a mother, I was asked her the same question by my children and passed down this old wives’ tale just for laughs.

Every time I prepare any dish with cabbage, I remember this story and say to myself: poor delicious cabbage! how people have mistreated you. Its such a versatile vegetable that can be eaten raw, boiled, steamed, stuffed or in a salad. However, I have yet to find any kids in inside!

Stuffed cabbage is a popular dish among Arab countries, with small differences in preparation. As per usual, I’ll be showing you how to make it like my mother taught me, a la Libanaise.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kilo cabbage
• 200 gs minced meat
• 3 cloves of garlic
• about 15 clove of garlic peeled
• 2 cups of rice
• salt, 7 spices
• lemon juice
• dried mint
• some corn oil

Preparation:

• Separate the cabbage, leaf by leaf
• Put it in a casserole of boiling salted water and cook for about 7 minutes, then strain it
• In a small saucepan, fry the minced meat in some oil
• Crush the garlic cloves, add to the meat while cooking and season with salt and 7 spices. Turn off the fire after a few minutes, before the meat is well cooked
• Wash the rice and mix it with the meat. This is now your stuffing for the cabbage
• Take one leaf of cabbage, open it carefully, place 1 teaspoon of the stuffing in the center and roll it. Repeat this with the rest of the leaves until you finish your stuffing
• Put some corn oil in a pot and pile the stuffed cabbage inside delicately with the garlic cloves in between rows
• On the top, place a plate upside down to keep them together while cooking
• Fill the pot with water until the cabbage is all covered, and not more
• Cook it on a low heat for about 25 minutes or until you find that rice is tender
• Add lemon juice for flavor
• Sprinkle with dried mint

ET VOILA..C’EST TOUT:)