Bubba Rose's Beef and Pistachio Stuffed CAbbage Leaves in Chraimeh Sauce "Holishkes"

I made what I suppose should be called the wimp's version: skipping the chilis in the sauce and serving the harissa on the side instead of inside the cabbage rolls.

This is, as described in the headnote, an unusual sauce for stuffed cabbage, replacing the usual tomato and lemon sauce with roasted peppers, lovely warm spices and tomatoes cooked down and pureed into a smooth aromatic sauce. Instead of the suggested blender, I used an immersion blender--much easier and fewer things to wash.

The filling combines beef, chopped pistachios, rice, raisins (which I used in place of barberries) and my new craze, Lebanese 7-Spice Mix. It gets rolled up in cabbage which has been par-boiled and cooled. The little bundles go back into the sauce which is brought to a simmer, covered and cooked gently for an hour. At first, I thought this was a slightly interesting and not bad version of stuffed cabbage. Then, after 24 hours in the fridge, a sampling (warmed in the microwave) was quite good. And, then, the following day, warmed properly on the stove and served up for dinner, what a surprise!! The flavors had developed, the cabbage had softened just enough and the dish was voted a great success.

I'll make this again, and be a bit more adventurous vis-a-vis the chilis and harissa.