napa cabbage rolls with mango

August 18, 2013 • Nancy Wolfson-Moche

My kids devoured them, my parents savored them and my husband loved them. What a way to start the day: with a cleaned plate of vegetables for breakfast…  

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inspired by Melanie Waxman; serves 6

INgredients

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4 large Napa cabbage leaves

1 half mango

pinch of coarse sea salt

Process

You will need a pot with a large diameter to blanch these Napa cabbage leaves. Fill it with about 6 inches of water, add a pinch of sea salt and place on a medium to high flame. In the meantime, wash the cabbage leaves well.

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When the water is boiling, add the cabbage leaves. I like to blanch one at a time, so they don’t break, but you can blanch all 4 together to save time. Drop each leaf into the pot and when it floats to the top and turns a brighter green, it is ready. It takes about 20 seconds to blanch each leaf. Remove each leaf with a wire or mesh skimmer, and place on a plate to cool. Trim the bottoms of the leaves.

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Begin to roll at the bottom, where the leaf was connected to the whole head of cabbage. This part is whiter and more dense than the greener, leafier part of the leaf. Begin rolling the leaf tightly;

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when you reach the halfway point, fold the outer edges into the roll and squeeze any water out. Continue rolling until you have a little log. Squeeze it again, to wring out excess water.

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Slice the log into inch-wide pieces and place them, inside up, on a plate.

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Peel and slice the mango.  Pieces should be about 2 inches long and a half inch wide.

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Top the cabbage rolls with the mango pieces.

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©Nancy Wolfson-Moche 2013

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Icing on the Cake: Testimonials

I loved Ms. Nancy’s cooking class so much.! I have been in this cooking class for two years and I would love to sign up for another one. I tried a lot of new foods like winter squash, cardamom, Brussels sprouts and kale. My favorite salad was the kiwi, carrot, radish salad.
Not only did we cook and eat, we also did labs about food. We used rulers to measure the size of plants. We also explored stone fruits and their ripe season. Now in my house we have window boxes and I am growing cherry tomatoes and basil.
I learned that we can use a lot of different tools to cook, not just our hands and senses. We used safety knives, potato peelers and a carrot sharpener (I wonder if you could sharpen a pencil with it?) !!!
Because of this class I can help papi make dinner and I will try any new food at least once to see if I like it. Thank you, Ms. Nancy for making cooking fun and interesting and helping me be excited about food.

- Love, K (a 7-year-old boy).