Kelly, Natalie, Marya, and Veronica are our winners!
Thanks for participating, everyone. I hope you're back in the swing of things at school/work/whatever you do during the fall and enjoying it.
Coming up next, my pumpkin risotto recipe. I'm not kidding, I've made this four times in the last week, but it keeps getting eaten before I have a chance to take a photo. That has happened with other recipes, but I think four times in a row is a record. I'm going to make a special batch just for you guys so I can post it on the blog. My husband doesn't get to eat ANY until the photo is posted, I promise.
"I made potato leek soup today and now I have this big leftover leek. The challenge: come up with a good way to prepare leeks without using potatoes or making a soup. I just have no idea what to do with this thing and I'm determined not to let it go bad.
"I also have half of a head of red cabbage, and some carrots, if that helps. haha!"
Now, I have enjoyed many meals prepared by Melanie and her partner, Ben, so I have privileged information that will probably also help with this challenge. They eat LOTS of meat, and they always have a freezer full of nice juicy cuts of something (including elk from Ben's annual hunting trip. We even ate mountain lion at their place once). So I'm going to suggest something inspired by a German dish called Rouladen that includes the ingredients she's asking about. Rouladen is like a fried burrito made of meat with a pickle wrapped in it and bacon around the outside. I also know Melanie is trying to avoid wheat, so this is a no-wheat recipe.
Including the ingredients she asked about, Melanie will need:
1 leek (white part only)
1/4 head red cabbage
1 large carrot, peeled
2 whole dill pickles
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons paprika
3-4 tablespoons butter, margarine, or oil
8 pieces of round steak, pounded 1/4" thick
mustard
1/2 pound bacon
1 1/2 cups beef broth (Gluten alert--don't use bouillon cubes if you're trying to avoid gluten)
toothpicks
Process the cabbage, carrots, pickles, half of the leek, and the garlic in a food processor. Slice the rest of the leek and set it aside. Mix in the paprika and cook the processed mixture in butter or oil in a deep skillet for a few minutes until it starts to brown a little. Scoop it out of the pan and set it aside in a bowl. Spread one side of each slice of meat with mustard. Put a scoop of the pickle and veggie mixture in the middle of each slice of meat on top of the mustard. Roll up the meat, wrap a slice of bacon around it, and secure it with a toothpick.
Turn the heat under the skillet to medium and add more butter or oil. Place the meat rolls in the skillet and cook on all sides until they're browned. About halfway through browning the meat, add the leeks. Add the broth, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer, covered, for 30-40 minutes.
Let me know how it turns out, Melanie!
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