Cabbage Burgers

At my office, there is a little cafe on the first floor that serves cabbage burgers probably once every two weeks.  I thought it was just hamburger meat cooked in a cabbage leaf.  However, she charges almost eight dollars for the burger, a bag of chips, and a can of soda, so I decided that I would look up the recipe and see what made them so expensive.  What I found is that these were nothing like what I thought they were, and I could make them for super cheap.

Cabbage burgers are essentially cabbage and hamburger meat cooked together and baked in a dough that makes this pillowy pocket that is super easy to eat.  If you did mini ones, they would make a great party appetizer just because all the ingredients are contained in the dough. 

Cabbage Burgers
slightly adapted from Allrecipes
yields 4 cabbage burgers
Ingredients
1 batch of pizza dough
1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey)
2-3/4 teaspoons water
1/4 large head cabbage, chopped
1/4 large onion, chopped
1/2 clove garlic, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 slices Swiss cheese

Directions 
1)  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2)  Divide  dough into 4 pieces, and roll into balls. Set aside. 
3)  Cook the ground beef in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Drain off grease. 
4)  Add the water, cabbage, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring as needed, until the cabbage is soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain off any excess liquids, and set aside. 
5)  On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough balls into squares. Place about 1/4 of the cabbage burger mixture into the center, top with cheese, fold the dough over, and pinch to seal. Place on a baking sheet with the seam side down. 
6) Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and brush with melted butter. Serve hot.

I thought these were very good.  I think the next time I make them with turkey, I need to season them a little stronger since ground turkey needs a little more spices to make it as flavorful as ground beef.  The cheese is melted in the dough and just oozes out of the burger pocket when you bite into it.  I think this is a very good recipe, and it is much cheaper to make at home than to buy from the little cafe.