Recipe Cabbage Roll Tamales

[The Late Night Gourmet]

You say potato, I say cabbage roll. I might start to get annoying, but I mean well. I like cabbage rolls. They’re in the same family as stuffed peppers and meatballs. But, I didn’t want to just make another cabbage roll recipe. I decided to stuff it with homemade chorizo. This transformed it into a tamale.

And, of course, I couldn’t use standard red sauce. I decided to use salsa instead of spending time making a sauce. Using something off-the-shelf didn’t hurt the recipe: there's so much love going into that chorizo. Full disclosure: the chorizo recipe is derived from a Guy Fieri recipe.

It’s beautiful and delicious. But, I’m not about to leave my wife and run off with this recipe. I don’t love it that much. The cabbage leaf as the wrapper adds a refreshing, slightly sweet character that works perfectly with my spicy homemade chorizo. But, it’s too thick to work like a tamale wrapper. It’s very messy because there’s little give to the skin, so the filling gets pushed out. Still tasty enough that I will probably make it again.

Ingredients

Chorizo Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken breast
3 - 4 chipotle peppers with adobo sauce
1 large garlic clove, diced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Remaining Ingredients

1 small head red cabbage
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 cup seasoned rice (I used leftover fried rice from a Chinese carryout meal)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar + 1/4 cup shredded cheddar, divided
1 large egg
1 cup salsa
green onion, chopped
cilantro, for serving

Directions

NOTE: whenever I buy chicken, I freeze the scraps. When I get at least a pound, I grind it. Just as good as store-bought, but no waste.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. Make the chorizo. Chop the peppers into small pieces. Raise a large pan to medium heat, and sprinkle the cumin seeds on the pan, moving constantly for a minute. Remove from heat. Combine all chorizo ingredients until fully blended.

3. Add chorizo to the pan, breaking up with a spatula. Add diced onions and stir into the chorizo. When the chicken is mostly browned, and the onions become translucent, stir in the rice, then stir in the egg, then 1/2 cup of cheese until fully combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Bring a pot of water to a boil that's large enough to fit the entire head of cabbage. Immerse the cabbage in the water for two minutes. Remove from the boiling water. Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage, and save for another use if desired (like a stock). Peel the top layer leaf back slightly, and run cold water over the cabbage so it flows under the leaf. Peel back the leaf carefully, remove, and set aside. Repeat as desired, depending on how many tamales you plan to make.

5. Pour some salsa in the bottom of a casserole pan. Fill one cabbage leaf with chorizo mixture, then fold over the leaves to wrap up the mixture. Place, fold-side-down, in the pan. Repeat until the mixture is used up.

6. Cover tamales with remaining salsa, adding more if desired. Place in oven, and cook for 15 minutes.

7. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and green onions over the top of the tamales, and cook for another 5 minutes.

8. Serve with cilantro leaves and additional salsa and green onion if desired.

 

[Timenspace]

Oh that is so attractive, I love the fact you used red cabbage! AND, homemade chorizo! Did I understand it correctly, that you used chicken for the chorizo? What good use of scraps, indeed. The sauce must be delicious.

 

[Mountain Cat]

Looks luscious!!!