[Sca-cooks] possible-or not-oop question

[Philip Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jun 28, 2009, at 7:31 PM, David Friedman wrote:

>> As I was preparing dinner today, I wondered if the dish was period.  
>> Our family has always called this dish "German Tamales" and it is  
>> cabbage rolls.  Ours are prepared with raw hamburger meat, uncooked  
>> long grain white rice, egg, breadcrumbs, and finely chopped onions  
>> and seasoned with salt and pepper. The meat mixture is then stuffed  
>> into softened cabbage leafs. Here our recipe differs from others I  
>> have read.  We layer them with sauerkraut and onions.  Then they  
>> are either baked in the oven or cooked on top of the stove.  They  
>> are an absolute family favorite for nearly eighty years. (My  
>> Maternal Grandmother taught me how to make them.)
>>
>> My question is: "Are they in any way, shape, or form period?".
>>
>> I eagerly await your expert opinions,

<snip>
> Sounds rather like prakus, which my mother used to make. I'm afraid  
> I don't know of any period versions.


I somehow seem to have managed to miss the original post.

It has been suggested by various authors that stuffed cabbage rolls  
were introduced after Turkish contact (read dolmades) with parts of  
Central Europe.

On a similar note, somebody (I think it may have been Elisabeth Luard)  
suggested that some temporarily-deposed Scandinavian noble spent some  
time as a guest in Byzantium, ran up huge debts, and returned home,  
followed by a posse of Turkish creditors, who had their own retinues,  
including cooks...

Pure speculation, of course, but the theories are out there.

Adamantius