Barley Cabbage Wraps With Pine Nuts and Currants (Slow Cooker)

This is a great vegetarian dish! You may add frozen meatless crumbles in place of or in addition to the feta cheese. You can assemble this the night before to get a good head start on the next day's dinner! Adapted from Cooking Light magazine.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  large head of cabbage, cored
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1⁄2 cups  finely chopped onions
• 3  cups  cooked pearl barley
• 3⁄4 cup  crumbled feta cheese (or meatless crumbles)
• 1⁄2 cup dried currant (or raisins-golden are good)
• 2  tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh parsley
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 1⁄2 cup  apple juice
• 1  tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 (14 1/2ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained

Directions

1. Steam cabbage head 8 minutes, cool slightly. Remove 16 leaves from cabbage. Use remaining cabbage for another use. Cut off raised portion of the center vein of each cabbage leaf(don't cut out vein). Set trimmed cabbage leaves aside.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, cover and cook 6 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat, stir in barley and next 4 ingredients(thorough parsley). Stir in 1/4 teaspoons salt and 1/8 teaspoons pepper.
3. Place cabbage leaves on a flat work surface, spoon about 1/3 cup barley mixture into center of each cabbag4e leaf. Fold in edges of leaves over barley mixture; roll up. Arrange cabbage wraps in bottom of a 5 quart electric slow cooker.
4. Combine the remaining 1/4 teaspoons salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoons pepper, apple juice, vinegar, and tomatoes; pour evenly over cabbage wraps. Cover and cook on High 2 hours or until thoroughly heated.
5. Makes 4 servings.