Of course it will work, and they're pretty good too. I've used kale, but more often we use collards because they have that big flat leaf, far easier to roll than cabbage.

You did remind me that I have some big leaves on the brussels sprouts, which are never going to produce edible sized sprouts before winter here. I'm not going to grow sprouts again, three years and I've never gotten a single edible sprout, just little tiny beginnings of sprouts and then it snows.....

Annie

Now I'm curious where you got your seeds/plants? I cannot grow brussels sprouts here, but kale grows well. Is it as easy to grow kalettes as regular kale, I wonder?

And the only drawback I can think of for stuffing kale leaves might be the thinness of the leaf, and the length of tough stem that needs to be cut out. Looks like it wouldn't work w/ the kalettes, obviously.

The kalettes have thicker drier leaves than regular kale.

Like Annie I don’t have great luck with Brussels Sprouts. I am afraid the same with the Kalettes. At least the leaves are yummy. The plants are huge.

Hm... I guess that's something different from Kale Sprouts, which are tiny kale heads the size of a medium Brussels sprout, growing out of a Brussels stalk. Those are absolutely scrumptious, just tossed with oil and seasoning and baked until crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle. I LOVE them!

They're more like curly kale. It sounds like maybe your kalettes are more like dino kale? Thick leaves? But you say drier. Are they really? Or just drier on the surface? Dino kale takes forever to cook through and can get unpleasant and chewy, is why I ask.

If you're at all concerned about the texture, you can do it the way my friend makes stuffed cabbage. She makes the filling balls and puts them in the pot with the veg for the sauce and cooks them, and she cuts up the cabbage into squares and steams it separately. Her kids kept unwinding them, so she decided not to bother with the work. Modern pots don't need the insulation of the cabbage to keep the filling from sticking to the sides. That would give you more control over the cook, at least until you have some experience with it.

Thanks, Rita, we have a LOT of collards still in the garden, as well as those brussels sprouts plants which have huge leaves but little/no sprouts.

Oddly enough, today Elery made collard rolls, just like cabbage rolls but with collard leaves. They are easier to steam and roll than cabbage and I like them better than I do grape leaves.

Annie

I've never heard of kalettes, but agree that kale would work fine as a substitute for cabbage in "cabbage rolls". I've used napa cabbage as a sub and thought it was easier to work with than regular cabbage leaves... also cooked up quicker. :)

Funny you mentioned Portuguese soup! Yesterday was cold and windy, and soup sounded really good. I had kale and some (opened) canned diced tomatoes that needed to be used, so I made a variation of the soup I had in the Azores... I used garlic, kale, carrots, potatoes, red kidney beans, tomatoes, chorizo, and mushrooms, and it was perfect with some fresh hot cornbread.

Kalette plants form some larger edible leaves. Any greens you like can be used for rolls. Just make them with the same amount of filling in each so they cook evenly.

Like Annie and Elery I like using collards. I was planning on making some meatballs but might just make some stuffed collards and use up the last of some chard I picked fearing a frost. (lay the chard on the collards before rolling) ....not enough chard for a meal. Wild rice and mushrooms.

Pllog - I think they are different versions of the same idea. Sorry if I confused you. The Kalettes aren’t forming the sprouts quite yet. Big buds but no rosettes yet. Time is running out.

So I am experimenting with the large leaves on the main plant - partly because I am frugal at odd moments and partly because it is supposed to encourage the kale sprouts to prune out the top growth.

Aha! I get it now. Thanks for the explanation. I've now figured out that what's in their picture on the kalettes homepage is the heads, but they're a lot bigger than Kale Sprouts heads. Or something.

I hope you're going forward with the project because I'm eager to hear how they turn out!