Napa cabbage and brown rice wraps

I recently bought a beautiful napa cabbage but I did want to use it in a way other than sautéed with garlic or braised in wine. I look it for a moment and those wonderful, enormous leaves gave me the idea of making wraps! The outer leaves are large enough to handle the same way as a tortilla with the advantage of having no preservatives and being gluten free. Much healthier, then. The question, you may say, is that if they can be as tasty as a tortilla. As a matter of fact, they can and I will prove it to you with this recipe.

I had to decide on the stuffing. I did not want meat or fish because the cabbage is very delicate. I open my pantry and my eyes fell on a bag of brown rice next to the nuts container. That was it.

Here it is my recipe for 8 wraps:

Start with the rice. In a pot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add 1 cup of brown rice (I used long grain but you can choose the one you like the most) and stir well. Add two cups of warm water, one bay leaf, one sprig of thyme, and salt to taste. Cover, turn the heat to low, and let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until the water has been absorbed. At the end of this cooking time, turn the heat off and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes more. No picking! :P

In the meanwhile, take a big pot (large enough to hold the cabbage leaves without bending to much) and fill it with water. Add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Take 8 outer leaves from you napa cabbage and wash them under running cold water.  Trim the stalk right close to where it connects with the leaf itself. Put the leaves into the boiling water for about 2 minutes and remove them carefully to a dish. Let them cool. Turn the oven to 350ºF.

While the cabbage is cooling down, fluff the rice with a fork and add 1/4 cup of chopped raw almonds, 3 tablespoons of sunflower seeds and 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped basil. Mix thoroughly and correct seasoning for salt if necessary.

Take one cabbage leaf and open it on a working surface. Scoop in 2 or 3 tablespoons of rice (adjust depending on the size of the leave) in the bottom half of the leaf, fold in the sides of the leaf and roll from the bottom up - basically, wrap it all up as you would do with a tortilla wrap. Hold the edge with a toothpick if necessary and transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat the process for as many leaves as you have. Drizzle the wraps with olive oil and place in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes. Serve warm with your choice of protein or simple for a light meal.

These wraps turned out so delicious that I even got my husband to eat brown rice, which he hated until now. They also make great pic-nic food and shown to be versatile enough to be served warm or cold. They are healthy, tasty and make a pretty cheap meal. Can we ask for more?

Happy cooking and bon appetit!!