MALFOUF (LEBANESE CABBAGE ROLLS)

Di kantor ada anak baru, orang Lebanon. Orangnya lucu dan buaweeeeelll buanget. Gw seneng ngobrol sama dia, terutama kalo pas makan siang. Selain karena orangnya seru, gw juga suka ngeliatin makanan dia yang (menurut gw) aneh-aneh itu. Disamping dua hal tersebut, gw juga suka ngobrol sama dia, karena... umm... karena gw suka ngeliatin muka dia!! Hahaha, sounds wrong?? Yes. Lebih berasa aneh lagi kalo gw bilang dia itu cewek, hihihi... kok gw jadi berasa kaya salah banget ya?? Tapi anyway, dari dulu gw emang mengagumi muka orang Timur Tengah. Kulitnya yang putih kekuningan & halus, hidungnya yang mancung tapi ga kelewat lancip sampe kaya nenek sihir, matanya yang coklat bening, dilengkapi oleh bulu mata yang tanpa maskara pun udah setara sama gw kalo pake fake eyelashes... Wuiiihh... Suka banget deh gw!! Eh? Loh? Kok gw jadi berasa serem sendiri ya?

Anyway, pada suatu siang yang cerah, dia bawa something yang menurut gw bentuknya kaya semar mendem. Berhubung eike lagi kangen jajanan pasar Indo, mungkin muka gw sumringah banget ya pas liatin dia makan. Akhirnya gw ditawarin. Pas gw cobain sepotong, uwenak bangeeeeett!!! Sukak!!! Langsung lah gw tanya namanya. Ternyata namanya "malfouf" (bacanya "malfuf", bagian "fuf"nya nyebutnya kaya lagi sok imut gitu). Dia bilang, bikinnya gampang. Cuma kol digulung-gulung terus direbus. Ih kok kayanya gampang?? Ternyata saya juga tertipu... huhu... Ternyata syusyaaahhh....

Tapi, hari ini pas gw bawa hasilnya ke kantor, dia bilang, buat ukuran first timer, apa yang gw buat ini bentuknya udah cantik banget. Obviously all the Lebanese would know that it's a malfouf. Dia minta nyobain, tapi ga gw kasih. Abis menurut gw rasanya beda banget sama yang waktu itu dia bawa. Gw bilang, ntar gw adjust dulu recipenya, gw bikin lagi, baru gw kasih dia coba. Sebenernya enak sih. Tapi beda aja.

Penampakan hasil karyaku yang luar biasa itu hahaha^^

Nah, daripada dianggep spam, marilah gw bagi-bagi resep buat bikin malfouf ini. Gw dapet resepnya dari web Mama Lebanese Kitchen, simply because it was the first one on the google, and the recipe has pictures!! Iyak... karena gw kan belom pernah liat orang bikin ini nih sebelomnya, jadi resep bergambar itu membantu banget. Gw copy kesini yah. Tapi kalo mau liat gambar-gambarnya, silahkan melipir langsung ke blognya. Tulisan berwarna ijo adalah catatan dari gw.

Ingredients

• 1 Cabbage head
• ¾th lb of lean ground beef (~ 350 grams) >> Gw sempet tanya sama si cantik, boleh ga diganti ayam? Dia bilang, kalo kakeknya selalu pake pork, karena pork itu lebih banyak lemaknya. Kalo mau ayam, pilih yang paha, jangan yang dada. Karena kita butuh lemaknya itu buat bikin nasinya jadi enak.
• 1 cup of rice, rinsed, dried
• 3 heads of garlic, freshly peeled >> Gw cuma pake 1,5 heads Argentinian garlic. Abisnya berasa aneh pake garlic sebanyak itu. Tapi mungkin kalo pake garlic Indo, memang mesti 3 sih... 
• 4 lemons, freshly squeezed >> NAH!! Ini kebanyakan banget nih. Jadinya aseeeem... Lain kali gw mau pake dua aja. Gw liat-liat emang makanan Lebanon kebanyakan pake extra lemon. Berhubung lidah gw kan tetep lidah Indo ya, gw agak ngerasa aneh. So its up to you all.
• 1-2 teaspoons of 7 spices >> Gw pake "all purpose mixed powder"
• 3 table spoons of olive oil
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. A 4 lbs cabbage head should yield around 30-35 rolled cabbage leaves depending on how big the leaves are.
2. Peel and discard the outer leaves of the cabbage.
3. Pit out the large stem from the bottom of the cabbage as in the photo above. This will help the leaves get separated easier. >> Ini gak gw kerjain. Soalnya gw nyoba buang batangnya, susah ya bok ternyata. Jadi yaudah pasrah aja sebulet-buletnya gw cemplungin semua
4. To separate the leaves, simmer the entire cabbage head in a large pot of boiling water for 5-10 minutes while carefully turning it over to ensure exposure to all of its sides. >> Nah, ini juga masalah buat gw nih. Panci terbesar gw pun tidak membuat seluruh kol tenggelam. Jadi, abis 5 menit, gw balik kolnya. 
5. As the leaves loosen, pin down the cabbage inside the pot with one fork, and with another fork slowly peel away the leaves one after the other. Do this slowly and carefully so you don’t hurt yourself with boiling water, and to also ensure that leaves are whole and not torn.
6. Place the cabbage leaves in a colander as you peel them. Please note that if you try to peel leaves of a raw cabbage they’ll very likely break and tear. >> Ini benar sekali saudara-saudara. Ga usah di tes lagi. Karena gw, sebagai orang yang ga mudah percaya sama stranger (didikan mama & papa, hahaha), kurang kerjaan ngetes-ngetes, sok jago. 
7. Once you’ve separated all leaves, try to roll one or two of them to see if they are soft enough. If not, and if they tear or break, put them back in the boiling water pot and cook them for another 5 minutes.
8. Mix the ground beef with the rice, 1 to 2 teaspoons of Lebanese 7-spices (or Allspice) to taste as well as ½ teaspoon of salt to taste. Mix them well and set aside.
9. Lay each cabbage leaf separately on a cutting board, cut out the stem if it’s too thick. Spread 1 to 2 table spoons of meat stuffing along the edge of the leaf , then roll it slowly and tightly over the meat all the way. >> Catatan penting! Disini gw salah nih. Si cabbage itu ntar yang bakalan menyerap kuah lemonnya. Makin tebel kulit kolnya ini, bakalan makin asem jadinya. Kemaren gw keseruan gulung-gulung, makanya jadinya asem bener. Mestinya, kolnya ini cuma kaya selapis gitu aja, ga usah sampe berlapis-lapis digulungnya. 
10. Line up the stuffed rolls carefully in a wide/deep cooking pot one by the other in a compact manner until you’ve completed a layer which you will garnish with a few chopped cloves of garlic. Place the rolls with the greenest leaves on the bottom of the pot since they need more heat/longer to cook.
11. Roll all the leaves and place them in the pot in this manner while placing garlic cloves in between the layers. You may end up with 2 to 4 layers of rolls, depending on how wide the cooking pot is. 
12. In a frying pan, saute 10-15 cloves of freshly minced or crushed garlic (one head) with 3 table spoons of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice until they start to turn light brown then dump the entire content on top of the cooking pot.
13. Squeeze 4 lemons, mix them with 4 cups of water, and ½ to 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste), then add them to the cooking pot. The sauce should cover the rolls and if not, add more water until it does.
14. Carefully shake/tilt the cooking pot sideways a few times to ensure the sauce seeps through everywhere and that the fried garlic also mixes well with the sauce (or you can mix them in advance).
15. Place a heavy plate inside the pot, on top of the rolls, cover the pot, and turn on the stove on high heat for about 5-10 minutes until they boil, at which time you turn heat to very low and let them simmer slowly for 1 to 1.5 hours (until the cabbage is fully cooked and is no longer crunchy – time may vary, however you should be left with a bit of sauce on the bottom don’t let it dry up). >> Kalo airnya berkurang, masukin air lagi. Pokoknya si kawanan kol ini mesti kerendem air terus. But me was only add once... Pada kenyataannya, kan cabbagenya juga ngeluarin air.
16. Serve hot with an optional side of plain Greek yogurt and an optional squeeze of lemon juice.

Nah, apa gw bilang?? Liat resepnya aja udah jiper kan?? Panjang beneeeerrr.... Sebenernya sih emang pas udah bikin, berasa sederhana banget sih ini. Cuma teknik-tekniknya unik, gw ga pernah masak dengan cara kaya gini sebelomnya. Sambil makan gw mikir, kayanya pake sambel kacang enak nih!

Selamat mencoba!

xoxo, Candela