This meal is another in the garden series.  Along with the other gorgeous garden veggies, I brought back two fresh picked red cabbages that have been sitting in my refrigerator for about a week now.  One of them I have set aside to use for my mom’s famous cole slaw (stay tuned).  The other, was tonight’s dinner: red cabbage rolls stuffed with red quinoa and goat cheese and topped with a sweet balsamic sauce.

I love the nuttiness of red quinoa and thought it would go nicely with the slight sweetness of the boiled cabbage leaves – but it was going to need something to hold it all together and give it some kind of dimension.  So, I decided to add some goat cheese to the wraps and top them off with just a drizzle of a sweet agave balsamic sauce.

These were pretty easy to make and all of the flavors combined so deliciously to make a perfect appetizer for any season. Here’s how I made these…

Ingredients:
1 whole red cabbage
1 small package of goat cheese (4 to 5 oz package is plenty)
1 cup red quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable broth
1 small shallot minced
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of agave or honey
a few drops of balsamic vinegar

Bring large pot of water to boil and place whole cabbage in the pot. Cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes or until outer leaves easily come off. After 10 minutes, use a pair of tongs to remove as many of the softened cabbage leaves as you can until they start to show resistance. Place leaves aside and let the rest of the cabbage continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Continue until you have desired number of leaves (1 leaf can be split down the middle to form two wraps).

While cabbage is boiling, cook red quinoa by combining 1 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of water and one cup of vegetable broth in a small pot. Bring to boil and then let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Quinoa is finished cooking when all liquid has been absorbed.

Once quinoa is close to being ready, place olive oil and shallots on small pan on medium to high heat and let simmer until shallots become translucent (about 5 minutes). When quinoa is finished cooking, mix in shallots and olive oil.

Place wraps on plate or cutting board and fill with a few crumbles of goat cheese (about 2 tsps) and a spoonful of quinoa. Filling should be placed closer to the bottom of the wrap for easier rolling. Starting from the bottom, roll cabbage into small wrap.

In a small bowl, mix together agave or honey and balsamic vinegar and drizzle on top of wrap (or on top of filling if you prefer).