From the 'Burg to Your Kitchen

Last week, I talked about Easter memories from my childhood growing up in the Russian Orthodox faith and the church that used to be where River Valley Custom Apparel is now in Williamsburg.

This Sunday is technically the Orthodox Easter. The date is usually different than the typical American Easter because Eastern Christianity follows the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar. I decided to open up one of my Mom’s dusty old cookbooks and bring you two Orthodox-inspired dishes that you can celebrate not just on the Orthodox Easter, but all year round.

Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 cup onion, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, chopped

2 qts. water

1 bay leaf

1 lb. chopped tomatoes

2 lb. shredded cabbage

1/2 tsp. pepper

1-1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley

Directions:

Sauté onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes. Add water and bring to boil. Lower temperature, add bay leaf, tomatoes and cabbage. Simmer until the cabbage is tender; about 45 minutes.

Add salt and pepper before serving; garnish with parsley.

Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:

2 small heads cabbage

1/2 cup rice

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef

1 lb. extra lean ground pork

1 bnch. parsley, chopped

2 carrots, grated

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2-3 bay leaves

Sauce

1-1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup sour cream

2 cups canned tomatoes

Directions:

Freeze the cabbage 3 days before needed. The night before, defrost cabbage and keep it in fridge.

Cook rice in water until al dente. Drain water and set aside. In a frying pan, heat olive oil and cook onions over low heat for 7 to 10 minutes until tender. Grate carrots. In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, parsley, onions, carrots, rice, salt and pepper.

In another bowl, mix sauce ingredients. Place the head of cabbage on cutting board and cut off the bottom and pull leaves away. Repeat with second head. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Take a cabbage leaf and put 2 Tbsp. filing at the bottom of the wide parts of the leaf and roll like a burrito, tucking sides in. Pour a cup of sauce at the bottom of a greased baking dish and start stacking rolls, add a couple bay leaves to the top. Pour remaining sauce over the rolls; cover and bake for 1 hour. Take the cover off and bake for 30 more minutes. Serve with more sauce if necessary.