Yes, it's a mouthful. But oh what a mouthful of deliciousness. It was one of those electric lightbulb moments when I was walking down the hill thinking about cabbage. I know what's going through your head right now. And thinking back it's pretty strange that I was thinking about cabbage, nothing but cabbage for no particular reason. But. It turned out genius. Trust me.
Oh the cabbage. I love how the further inside you go the lighter it gets. Now of course there are different benefits with the different colours of cabbage so keep it varied. New research has shown that steaming cabbage is the best (good job my recipe uses that cooking method!) and the reason being is that, the fiber related components do a better job at binding with your stomach bile if steamed. Bit icky but trust those Harvard boys! It's also fantastic for cholesterol and Vit C, contains more than an orange to be truthful and for those of you who purchase numerous anti-ageing creams…you're actually just better off eating cabbage regularly.
Kale, kale, kale. Hopefully you've all had a go at making kale chips?!?! I'm looking at
you in the back. I stole this little bundle off a friend down the road. Can you spot the two snails? So cute and so fresh. This gorgeous and delicious veggie is also great for lowering cholesterol especially when steamed….see a theme emerging?? Due to its unusual concentration of types of antioxidants (carotenoids and flavonoids) its a fantastic de-toxer for the body.
Now, let's talk bulgar wheat. I know it's not gluten free and if that's an issue for you I would swap it out for quinoa (just cook it in less miso). But I eat so much quinoa I thought that this would be a nice difference. It's part of the bunch called 'whole-grain foods' which are very good for you despite what your paleo friends tell you. This particular golden grain is a good source of protein, fiber, iron and Vit B6. For 100g you'll only get 33.8g of carbs. Not bad!
RECIPE:
½ cup of bulgar wheat
¾ pints of miso soup ( I used a sachet of miso and hot water)
6 stems of tender stem broccoli finely sliced
6 leaves of kale (any will do) finely sliced
Cabbage leaves, either 4 large ones or 8-10 small ones
First put bulgar in the miso soup and bring to the boil, lower to a simmer and cook till soft but not mushy. Meanwhile slice your kale and broccoli stems. Wash your cabbage leaves (whichever you're using) and cut a triangle out of the thick white part. This will make it easier to fold and make a parcel plus, this is the bit that takes the longest to cook!
Once the bulgar is cooked, strain of any liquid, shouldn't be a lot and mix with the finely chopped broccoli and kale. Season well. Put your pan of water on to boil and get your steaming gear ready. Then spoon either two spoonfuls into the big leaves and a small spoonful in the small ones. Wrap the cabbage leaves around the filling and tie or use a cocktail stick to keep it together.
Steam for about 5mins (could be longer depending on how big your leaves are) but you want them with a slight bite to them.
Tip: if you want to switch up your filling you could add toasted pine nuts, flaked almonds, some raisins..a little chilli or some sliced shitake mushrooms. Nom Nom.
