At this time in my life, I would gratin everything.
I find myself craving soft vegetables covered with a crispy crust of bread and parmesan, potato pies golden with butter and cheese on the surface, orange-scented fennel and herb-flavored breadcrumbs ... continue ?? My diet goes in stages: I fall in love with a dish, I reproduce it for a while until another one arrives to make my heart beat. Meanwhile, I admit, I still follow a fairly balanced diet, with moments of "butter" and "bacon".
I don't like all vegetables, I have to be honest, but in recent years I have learned to appreciate them a little more, experimenting with self-made preparations that did not belong to my mother or grandmother's cooking repertoire. Like these cabbage rolls: a wrinkled, resistant and welcoming wrapping, filled with soft flesh scented with orange and nutmeg. I wrap them with bacon, to keep everything tight in an embrace, and I make them crunchy outside with parmesan cheese, for that savory touch that is always appreciated in the mouth. And in the center a soft bite of mozzarella cheese...
I believe that after trying them for the first time, when you see a cabbage you will immediately think about cooking some
First of all, clean the cabbage and get 6 large firm and intact leaves: if they are small, double the quantity and use two for each roll. Boil a pot of lightly salted water and dip the leaves for a minute, just to blanch them, then collect them with a skimmer and spread them out to cool on a clean cloth. Meanwhile, soak the bread in milk. Prepare the filling by mixing the soaked and squeezed bread, chopped parsley, grated nutmeg, salt and black pepper, meat, egg and grated orange peel in a bowl. Divide the meat mixture into 6 parts. Take a leaf, salt a little inside and fill it with a portion of meat, put a piece of mozzarella in the center, then wrap it well and close with a slice of bacon on the outside. If you want, you can stop with a toothpick or kitchen twine. Put all the rolls in order in a pan that goes both on the fire and in the oven, with a bit of oil on the bottom. Pour a little water on the bottom, cover with a lid, and put the pan on medium heat for 20/25 minutes. When the water has dried, uncover the rolls, sprinkle them with grated parmesan and put in the oven at 180 degrees for another 20/25 minutes, until golden brown.
