Nutty about pine nuts

It's a wonder to me why pine nuts, which is actually the seeds of the pine tree, are so incredibly expensive. In the northern Cali area, I have seem them at an average price of $22 per pound! When eaten raw, they have a slightly rancid taste. Only when toasted, the roasted flavour begins to hide some of that rancidity. The kinds we see most are that of the Asian variety. When toasted then mixed with a blend of currants, capers, lemon zest and juice, fresh juilienned basil, and extra-virgin olive oil, you can only begin to imagine how good and balanced the mixture is. I know, because I went through about ten tasting spoonfuls of it today... just to make sure. Call it extreme quality control.

Pine nut, basil, caper and currant stuffed savoy cabbage

Cauliflower "rice"

Sweet pepper harissa coulis

Blanched savoy cabbage leaves were trimmed and stuffed with the aforementioned pine nut mixture. Served on a bed of cauliflower rice made of pulsed raw cauliflower, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper, the stack was drizzled with a sweet red bell pepper made of bottled harissa (yes - it's much better to make your own), roasted and peeled red bell peppers, red wine vinegar, and extra-virgin olive oil. It was really, really good. And since I had leftover rolls, I helped myself to two of them.