Pork Sausage Cabbage Roll-Ups

Ahh, the age old practice of putting food inside other food. It doesn't always work (shrimp cocktail inside a glazed pastry with sprinkles), however sometimes it does. The following is an example of this practice used for deliciousness.

System Requirements

There's a lot here! Don't get lost.

• Ground Pork (1/2 Pound)
• Pork Sausage (1/2 Pound)
• Cabbage
• Green Pepper
• Yellow Onion
• Rice (1 Cup)
• Tomato Sauce
• Chopped Garlic
• Olive Oil
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Paprika
• Cayenne Pepper
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Salt and Pepper

Preparation

First, make some seasoning from about 2 tablespoons of Paprika, 2 of both salt and garlic powder, and 1 of black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Dump it in a bowl and mix it up.

Cook some rice. It doesn't matter how, just cook a cup of rice using your preferred method.

Start a large pot of boiling water, and chop your onions and peppers in the meantime. Don't make the bits too small, but not too big either.

Melt about two tablespoons of butter in a skillet. (FOR GOD'S SAKE USE ONE BIGGER THAN I USED.)

Once the butter has all but melted, dump in the onions, peppers, and your mixed-up spices.

Cook that for about 6 to 7 minutes while mixing well. Add your chopped garlic. (REMEMBER TO USE A BIGGER SKILLET OR YOU WILL MAKE A MESS JUST LIKE ME.)

Brown half a pound of sausage all the way through in a pan or small pot with a good bit of olive oil.

By now your large pot of water should be boiling. Blanch your cabbage leaves.

Add your half pounds of pork sausage and ground pork to your seasoned vegetable mix-up. Cook thoroughly.

Your rice should also be done. Once all of the pork is nice and cooked within your mixture, add the rice. (By this point I'd migrated to a larger pot so I'd stop getting food all over my stovetop.)

Mix that shit up real good, then keep it warm. Take your cabbage leaves (which should now be nice and pliable after being blanched) and lay them flat on your counter top or cutting board.

Dump one to two wooden-spoonfuls of your porky mix-up into the center of the leaf. The easiest and best way I've found to roll these up is to take the leaf by the stem and roll it halfway into the center. Tuck the sides into the middle, and roll it the rest of the way. You should end up with something like this:

Do that for the rest of your cabbage leaves and/or pork mixture. Toss them into a steaming basket, and steam them for 15 to 20 minutes.

While your rolls are steaming, prepare yourself a simple tomato sauce. I used sauce, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper.

When you're done steaming your rolls, take them out and set them on a plate. Spoon some of your sauce over top of the rolls, and serve with some crusty bread. Blush is a good wine choice.