Cabbage wraps with bulgur wheat

Recently I have noticed that Turkish have very mixed feelings towards cabbage. I do meet lots of people who hate it, however, more and more often I see them being sold in supermarkets and sometimes you cannot find them as they are just sold out. February is a bit of a boring month when it comes to fresh vegetables as we are still waiting for a new season. So all Turkish can enjoy is cabbage, some root vegetables or dried vegetables that are really popular in Gaziantep and all over Turkey.

This recipe is inspired by a dish I tried during Gaziantep days in Istanbul, where stuffed dried eggplants and pepper were filled with rice and spiced with cumin, red pepper, cinnamon and pomegranate molasses.

• Serves 6-8

What you need:

• 1 cabbage (about 1 1/2 kg);
• 2cupsmof bulgur;
• 1 large onion;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 1 tbps red pepper paste;
• 1 tsp tomato paste;
• 3tbsp pomegranate molasses;
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin;
• 1/2 tsp geound cinnamon;
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice;
• 1 tsp dried thyme;
• 2 tbsp olive oil;
• a handful of parsley;
• 2 tbsp pine nuts;
• 2 tbsp. dried black currants;
• 2 bay leaves.

sauce

• 100ml olive oil;
• 4 cloves of garlic;
• 1 tbsp red pepper paste;
• What you have to do.

Instructions

1. Put the cabbage in a large pot, add lots of water and bring it to boil. Cook until outer leaves start to soften, remove then when soft and cook the rest.
2. Make a filling by washing bulgur in cold water. Transfer them into a bowl, add peeled and finely chopped onion, garlic, redd pepper paste, tomato paste, spices, pomegranate molasses, chopped parsley and olive oil.
3. Take each cabbage leaf, cut it in half. Add a table spoon of filling, fold the sides and roll the cabbage to make a wrap.
4. Drizzle the bottom of the pot with some oil, arrange cabbage wraps, pour in water to cover them completely. Add bay leaves and cook for 30 minutes until cooked through.
5. Make sauce by heating olive oil with red pepper paste. When the paste dissolves, remove oil from the heat and add finely chopped garlic. Leave the sauce to cool.

Serve cabbage wraps with garlic sauce or just yogurt. Enjoy!