Kale Rolls from Leftovers

Kale rolls, green beans, Greek yogurt, carrot flowers

Last night we had the simple version of a Lebanese favorite; actually, several Lebanese favorites rolled into one, so to speak. When I was a kid, we were always thrilled to eat grape leaves, cabbage rolls and stuffed zucchini. They were all made with the same stuffing, and the zucchini and cabbage had tomatoes or tomato sauce added. Yogurt was always served on the side. These days rolling is too much work; to make it easy, I just layer the vegetables and stuffing into the slow cooker or pressure cooker. Yesterday when I was processing a mountain of ground beef (more on that next time), I decided to make this for dinner. I had enough cabbage for one layer and enough zucchini for another layer, but absolutely no tomatoes. It still came out great.

While "unstuffed" vegetables is a delicious meal, it is not at all a good-looking meal. There was just enough left to send for lunch, but how to present it in an appetizing way? Luckily I had some kale, although any large leaf would work. I steamed the kale and rolled the filling inside. A whole pot of these would be tedious to roll, but four was no trouble at all. There, that's better.

We happened to have Greek-style yogurt, which is thick, not runny, so it could just go into the silicone cup. The only other thing I had to fill up the box was green beans, which made the lunch a bit monochromatic, but a scattering of carrot flowers saved the day. The carrot flowers are very easy to make and kids love sharing them.

The chef in the YouTube video uses a citrus tool to make the channels; you can also do as I do and cut small grooves with a sharp knife. His way is easier, though ; )