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Cabbage Wrapped Sausages
Plump, juicy sausages wrapped in tender cabbage leaves create a simple meal that is filling while still being a healthy choice. You will not miss the bun once you make this dish!
Use your favorite type of sausage in this dish. It is completely interchangeable as long as your choose a good quality. I am a “sausage-snob”, but it truly will make or break a dish if you choose poor quality meat! We have a great local sausage company that comes to the Farmer’s Market weekly where I snag my favorites.
Ingredients:
4 Sausages in casing (Bratwurst, Knockwurst, Kielbasa, Weisswurst etc)
4-6 Large outer leaves from a big head of Cabbage
1 cup of Bone Broth
1 Teaspoon of Paprika
2 Tablespoons Whole Grain Mustard
Salt/Pepper to taste
In a shallow saucepan melt butter (or duck/pork fat) and then sear each side of your sausages until crispy and golden brown. The sausages will swell and plump up at this point. I typically place a lid on the pan and let them cook while I prep the cabbage leaves.
While the sausages are cooking, bring a large pot of water to a simmer. After removing outer leaves from the head of cabbage, blanch each piece by dipping in the boiling water using a set of tongs and set aside until finished. The leaves will turn a bright green and become limp.
Once sausages are done, remove from pan and place on a plate allowing them to cool enough so they can be handled. Meanwhile, pour 1 cup of Bone Broth into the hot pan to deglaze. Be sure to scrape the pan well to release any brown bits stuck to the pan. Add paprika, mustard, salt and pepper. Simmer and stir until thickened. I prefer to use my homemade whole grain mustard https://itsasavagelife.com/savory-wholegrain-mustard/ but any flavorful course ground or wholegrain mustard will do.
Once the sausages are cool enough to handle, wrap each sausage in 1-2 overlapping leaves of cabbage (depending on the size of the leaves) tucking the ends (similar to wrapping a burrito). Even if they don’t wrap perfectly, the dish still turns out great.
Place back in the same sauce pan, and continue to cook for another 20 minutes. I typically flip them halfway through so that the sauce coats both sides.
Once finished, serve immediately and pour a hearty spoonful of sauce over each one. My favorite sides to compliment this dish are cooked greens and spatzle or mashed potatoes. These also make fantastic leftovers!
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Plum Preserves
Plum preserves are a perfect way to capture the sweet taste of summer!
I use it as a spread for bread, ice cream or yogurt topping, and as an addition to my Kombucha!
How beautiful are these?! My recipe can easily be doubled (or tripled!) if you are blessed with an abundance of plums.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of fresh plums
- 1 pound of organic cane sugar
- 1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
Of course, the first step is to wash and pit all the plums. I prefer to keep the skin on since most of it cooks up, and what is left just adds to the texture and density of the preserves.
Place plums into a large heavy bottomed stainless steel or enamel coated pot, then mix in sugar and lemon juice. I use a large enamel coated stockpot so that I don’t have to worry about it bubbling over and making a mess.
Cook on Medium-High heat stirring often until plums are cooked down and you have reached the desired thickness. It will have turned a BEAUTIFL Red/Purple color by this time. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot well when stirring to prevent sticking and burning.
Pour into clean/sanitized jelly jars using a jar funnel. Be sure to wipe the rim of the jar clean with a damp towel before you apply lids to ensure a good seal. Apply rings tightly and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Carefully remove jars and place on a clean kitchen towel on the counter to “rest” for a day. Be sure to check the seal on your jars a day later to ensure they all sealed correctly. Place any unsealed jars in the fridge and use within a week (I HIGHLY recommend pouring over vanilla ice cream!).
