Cabbage & Sausage Stuffed Bread

There is an empanada stand at my local farmers market that sells the most amazing Peruvian food, the Empanada Llama. The last time I was there I got the chorizo and cabbage rice and was instantly in love, the combination couldn't have been more delicious! We always get a whole bunch of goodies when we stop there for brunch. We find a picnic table among the stalls after and eat outside watching everyone buy the freshest produce around. This is what inspired me to create this homemade stuffed bread. Sweet caramelized cabbage and onions paired with luscious, fatty sausage and ooey, gooey mozzarella...can you say ahhhhmazing! The hot bread was so perfect dipped in a simple homemade pizza sauce and served with some cold beer, mmmmm!! I could have eaten a whole loaf to myself.

Its almost fall here in upstate New York and this bread is going to be on my recipe rotation for sure, alongside a hearty vegetable soup...what more could you want! Cabbage is such a humble and incredibly healthy vegetable and its very underutilized, I wanted to highlight it here because I feel that, if treated with some respect, it can be the most delicious vegetable you will ever eat...I promise even professed haters will love it! Now don't let me scare you off with the mention of homemade bread dough. My recipe is really just pizza dough so if you want go to a local pizza shop and buy some it will still be amazing; the stars of the dish are the "stuffins" anyway!

This recipe makes 2 loaves, it freezes beautifully. One loaf will serve 4.

Ingredients

1/2 my pizza dough recipe, local bought dough is also fine I would get a large to make two loaves.

1 lb pasture raised breakfast sausage, mine was bulk. If you buy links just remove the casing.

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Large organic onion, diced.

3 Cloves organic garlic, minced or grated.

1 Small head organic cabbage, stem removed and sliced like you would for cole slaw.

1 Sprig fresh organic thyme, leaves only, chopped.

Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper, for seasoning while cooking.

1/4 Cup water

1/2 Cup bench flour, for rolling out the dough.

2 Cups mozzarella cheese, shredded.

1 Egg beaten with a tiny splash of water, for an egg wash.

3 Tbsp sesame seeds

Pizza sauce for dipping, optional. (I would purchase some from a local pizza shop while getting your dough if you aren't inclined to make your own.)

Directions

Make sure your pizza dough is room temperature, leave it out for at least 2 hours prior to cooking. If it is not the dough will be very difficult to work with and won't roll out, it will keep springing back.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and saute the sausage with a tiny bit of salt and pepper, till it is browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Remove from the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Add the olive oil and saute the cabbage, onions and garlic with the thyme and some salt and pepper till they are caramelized and browned, adding water as needed if the pan gets too dry, about 15-18 minutes. Cover the pan while cooking, but remove when you add water to let it cook off. Add the sausage back into the pan and cook for 2 more minutes just to combine the flavors. Remove from heat and set aside.

Flour a work surface and roll out half your dough into a large rectangle, I don't measure, its homemade it doesn't have to be perfect. Sprinkle your dough with some salt and pepper evenly, about 1 tsp each (I like salt so use less or none if you want).

Spread out half of your meat and cabbage mixture onto the dough leaving a border all around on all 4 sides. Spread out one cup of the mozzarella cheese over top of this.

Brush the border with the egg wash. Starting with the long side, roll up the dough like a jelly roll using your fingers to hold in the stuffing and roll as tightly as possible. Tuck the ends under and place, seam side down on a pizza stone or oiled cookie sheet.

Brush the whole thing with egg wash and sprinkle with half the sesame seeds. Repeat the whole process with the other dough and bake both in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until they are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before cutting, if you cut right away your stuffing will just fall out all over the place, it needs time to cool and set.

Slice thickly, about 1 1/2 inches each and serve with any dipping sauce you like: spicy marinara, tomato soup or a homemade garlic butter would be wonderful!