Kraut Broca

It's chilly (or, at least, chillier), your family seems to be getting hungrier, and the soup recipes you've mastered suddenly seem like they're not quite enough... what to do? Go ahead and make that cream-of-mushroom, that butternut squash, or that tomato soup, and then add a batch of these to round everything out.

Courtney's Great-Grandmother's Kraut Broca, with a Twist

Makes around 24 rolls, heavily dependent on how big or small you make 'em

1 batch of your favorite bread dough 

(equivalent amount to one loaf of bread- 

our go-to recipe comes from this book and it never does us wrong)

For filling:

1 small head of cabbage, cut into thin ribbons 

(we used purple this time, but standard green is the norm)

1 lb sausage (meat or veggie- today we used veggie)

1 large sweet yellow onion, cut into thin half-circles

2 TBS olive oil

1 TBS soy sauce

~1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

pinch of nutmeg for the sake of the cabbage

For the twist:

2-3 thick-cut slices of cheese, cut into chunks (we used Swiss today)

Make and proof your bread dough. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice onions and cabbage into thin slices, and toss into deep non-stick pot with sausage, olive oil, and spices.
Saute until cabbage is tender and sausage is browned, ~8 minutes.

Cut cheese into chunks while cabbage filling cools slightly. Working with lightly floured hands,
divide dough into 18-24 equally-sized balls. 

One by one, flatten a dough ball, place ~ 2 TBS of cabbage filling
in the center, top with chunk of cheese, and crimp edges of dough closed
around filling and cheese.

Dough should completely encase filling and cheese. Place finished kraut broca seam side down on tray sprayed with
non-stick spray or covered in parchment paper. Continue flattening, filling, and closing remaining dough balls.

Bake completed kraut broca for 30-40 minutes on rack placed in the lower half of your oven until golden brown.

The original recipe from my Great Grandmother does not call for cheese. However, I find the extra fat and richness a great compliment to the cabbage and bread. We have also tried this recipe with chorizo sausage and cheddar cheese with great results.

Enjoy!