Creative Cabbage Buns

I found this recipe somewhere many years ago. They take a little time, but are really pretty simple. I had a half a head of cabbage we needed to eat and was wanting to try something different when I remembered this recipe. I haven't made it in years. One of the nice things about it is the versatility of using what you have or what you like. That's the nice thing about simple recipes. They are easy to tweak to fit your tastes. I think the original recipe was called Cabbuns or something like that. One of the benefits of fixing cabbage this way is that it really doesn't taste very cabbage-y. That may be an advantage if you are trying to broaden the base of things to eat that may not be on your top ten list. You may want to add this to your repertoire.

The first step is to mix up the bread dough. This dough doesn't have to rise before you use it, so I mix it up first then cook up the filling.



Bread Dough
1 c. hot water
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. sugar or honey
2 tsp. yeast (I used 3 because of my fresh ground wheat flour)
1 egg
1/3+ c. shortening
3 1/2 - 4 c. flour (I used 2 cups wheat, 2 cups white)

Mix the yeast and honey in the water and let stand until starting to bubble. Mix in all other ingredients, turn out and knead until smooth. Set aside.

The filling calls for a chopped bell pepper. This summer I dehydrated some of the peppers we grew for the first time. I have been trying to remember to use them in some of my regular recipes. This was the first time I tried rehydrating them for a meal. They worked out great.

To make the filling:
Brown 1 lb. ground meat. (This time I used sausage.)
While the meat is browning add:
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 chopped bell pepper (my rehydrated peppers)
1/2 head finely chopped cabbage 
Salt and pepper to taste

The recipe doesn't call for it, but I also added about 2 tbsp. of parsley. It is very good for you and I add it to most dishes. It was also time to refill my parsley container. I like the small containers for daily use, but I buy my parsley in bulk. This is a one pound bag. 

The company I buy from, Monterey Bay Spice Company, you're not going to believe this, sells a pound for $9.00. I have used this company for a number of years and am happy with the quality of their product. The shipping is a little high, but I haven't found better prices.

I used my cast iron wok for this. It is a great pan. It is pretty big, and a little heavy, but filling like this won't fit in my regular 10" skillet.





Grate about 1 c. cheese. Use whatever cheese you like. I think I have always used cheddar in the past, but this time I used mozzarella because it is what I had in the frig.

Take a small piece of bread dough and roll it out into about a 6" circle, about 1/4" thick. The first time I made these I rolled the dough out thicker, but we thought it made these buns way to bread-y. We like it with more filling and less bread. 

These three pictures turned out rather blurry, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened.

Put a spoonful or two on the dough - enough to fill whatever size cavity you create. 

Put a sprinkle of cheese on top, then fold the dough over from opposing sides, twice. Pinch the dough together to seal.

Place the buns sealed side down on a greased cookie sheet. You can see the one that I rolled too thin. It has some holes in it, but it cooked up just fine.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until buns are done. Serve hot. 

I found that these are actually better the second day reheated. It seems the filling tastes better after it has time to mingle for a while. 

This meal takes a little time, but it tastes good and is a nice change. You can easily modify the ingredients to match the tastes of your family and the extras freeze well.......if there are any. Your family will love you for taking the time to make a meal tailored just for them. As I made these I thought about how easy it would be to make these with the fresh things from the garden next spring. I could add spinach or kale, even peas. And now that I think about it some more, I could add some of the squash or carrots or chicken that we canned last summer. The possibilities are endless, so use your imagination and create your own tasty masterpiece.


Until next time - Fern