Stuffed Cabbage

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Twenty years ago I enjoyed the friendship of an elderly lady who as a teenager had survived the terrible Armenian holocaust perpetrated by Turkey and then the death march to Aleppo, where she was able to emigrate to the US, living i Philadelphia until her death at age 92 in 1989. She blessed me in many ways, among them teaching me how to cook a number of wonderful Armenian dishes. From her I learned to love sumac, a tart spice sprinkled on food in many Middle Eastern countries. She made delicious soups, salads, baklava and stuffed cabbage. She nspired one of her granddsons to become a professional chef. Several large outside leaves cabbage, tough center stems removed, blanched until just tender 1 cup rice, steamed with salt 2 T./30ml olive oil 8 oz./250g lamb shoulder, minced 1 onion, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 oz./85g olives chopped Handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped Handfulfresh mint leaves, chopped Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Plain yogurt Sumac Broth with or without tomato paste or sauce The broth may be lamb or chicken; you may mix it with peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes, tomato paste or plain tomato sauce, to taste Heat the olive oil and llightly saute the lamb, onion and garlic. Combine the rice, lamb mixture, olives, herbs and seasonings while the rice is still hot. Place a cabbage leaf flat on a board. Place a spoonful of the mixture in the center, not so much that you co not have plenty of bare are left for wrapping. Wrap the sides of the leaf up over the mixture, then fold over the top. Roll from the bottom to close. Place seam side down in a large lidded skillet until all the ingredients are used. Add enough broth or broth and tomato mixture to cover. Cover with the lid and simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. Serve in soup plates (not bowls) with plenty of broth. Top with yogurt and sprinkle with sumac. Have more yogurt and sumac on the table for diners to add to taste. Armenians stir yogurt and sumac through the broth while eating it.