See Us Eat: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

We had a cabbage in our CSA box and Alexis immediately thought of cabbage rolls. Cabbage rolls take a bit of preparation, but they are satisfying in that way that only stick-to-your-ribs Eastern European food can be.

-1 head cabbage
-1 lb ground beef
-6 cloves garlic, 3 minced, 3 whole
-1 onion, 1/2 minced, 1/2 chopped
-1 tb paprika
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 eggs
-2 cups sourkraut
-3 cans diced tomatoes
-2 tb Italian seasoning

In a saucepan, sautee the chopped onion and whole garlic for a few minutes in a bit of olive oil. Then add the tomatoes and the Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and then simmer, covered for about 45 minutes. Then puree. Set aside

With your hands, mix together the ground beef, minced garlic, minced onion, eggs, paprika, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Core the cabbage and place the head in boiling water for about 8 minutes. Remove the head, and when it is cool enough to handle, carefully remove the leave and place them on paper towels to dry out a bit.

More instructions below:

Take a golf ball sized hunk of meat and roll it into an oblong ball. Place on a cabbage leaf near the bottom/rib.

Roll the meat in the cabbage leaf, burrito style.

Repeat until all your cabbage leaves are filled.

In the bottom of a deep, oven-safe pot, place a layer of sourkraut. Then add a layer of cabbage rolls, then cover with tomato sauce. Repeat until all of the cabbage rolls are gone.

Then place the pot in the oven, covered, on 375. Bake for 1.5 hours.