The Polska Stuffed Cabbage Polka

A humongous cabbage has been lurking in the crisper drawer. It was on sale for 99 cents after St. Patrick's Day, no doubt left over from corned beef and cabbage at the brewpub owned by the local grocer. Goaded by the need for more refrigerator space and a desire for something adventurous in the comfort food category, I decided to make stuffed cabbage. My grandmother was not Polish or Jewish, but her version had elements of both cultures. I decided to try to emulate hers while adding healthier elements. Climbing on a ladder, I pulled down a large steamer/stockpot combination that I use for canning and put the head of cabbage to steam over boiling salted water after removing the core. I thawed a pound of low-fat chicken breakfast sausage rather than drive further afield for ground turkey breast or really lean (4 percent or so) ground beef. To extricate the flavor profile from its breakfast leanings, I mixed together some augmentation: TVP (soy based, non-GMO, no solvents) with a bit of water and tomato sauce, dried shiitakes reduced to near powder, raisins, garlic, miso, dried onion, a little black bean garlic paste, Spanish paprika, a dash of allspice, a dab of balsamic vinegar and a squirt of agave syrup. After that mixture hydrated, I added the chicken sausage and about a cup of cooked brown rice with a little Tony's and few sprinkles of Bufalo chipotle sauce. Into another large pot, I chopped a red sweet pepper, a third of a small onion and three cloves of garlic, opening a large can of crushed tomatoes and simmering it all with a bit more balsamic and malt vinegar, some coconut sugar and a squirt of agave. The cabbage pot had been pulled off the burner, and I peeled a pile of leaves. I cut off the fibrous core base in a triangular pattern, and placed generous mounds of filling into the giant leaves, placing the bundles in layers on a base of sauce in a large Dutch oven, adding sauce between each layer. The covered pan went into the oven at 325 for a little more than two hours with a casserole of acorn squash as its later accompaniment. The resulting cabbage rolls had the requisite Polish/Jewish sweet and sour tang. The savory filling laced with raisins had the right texture, and the TVP was not detectable. The cabbage was also quite tender and I am happy to report the rolls did not fall apart. Mom asked, "What it this?" That is a sign that in spite of her own mother's efforts, such ethnic offerings are now outside of Mom's acceptable-because-they-are-recognizable food categories. I may freeze some of the leftovers.