Does anyone have a good recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls?!
Does anyone have a good recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls?
An old Polish lady I knew made it. I know that it had lamb, rice, and beef in it, and there was a tomato-based sauce on it, and onion in there somewhere, but I have never found a recipe that was similar or anywhere near as good.
Answers:
serves 4 (2 rolls each)
a small head of savoy cabbage
500 g. ground lamb
1 small onion
1 T. butter
4 t. minced pine nuts
1/2 t. British mixed spice*
1/2 t. tarragon
1/2 t. mint
3 T. parsley, minced
2 T. basmati rice
100 g. mixed dried fruit (apple, apricot, prune, pear)
to cook the rolls:
a few lamb bones
1 onion quartered
salt and pepper
a tart fruit such as apple or quince, or the peel of an untreated lemon and orange
Remove the outer dark leaves of the cabbage and use a small knife to cut around the base of the cabbage. Remove eight leaves carefully. Reserve the rest of the cabbage for another dish.
Blanch the leaves, 2 at a time in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Drain in a colander.
Lay a leaf with the main rib up. ‘Shave’ off the rib without cutting through the leaf. Repeat with all. Set aside cut side up.
Sauté the onion over medium heat in the melted butter until soft. Add the mixed spice, dried herbs, pine nuts and rice. Sauté for a few minutes, adding a spoon of water to prevent burning. Add the lamb and use a spatula to break up the meat as it cooks, mixing well with the other ingredients. Pepper well and cook for 15 minutes. Set aside.
Lay a leaf, cut side up with the stem end toward you. Place an eighth of the filling in the lower third of the leaf (stem end). Roll once over the filling, fold the sides of the leaf to the middle, covering the filling and continue to roll. Give the roll a squeeze to help retain its shape. Repeat for the rest of the leaves.
In a deep, medium sized pot, place the lamb bones and one cabbage leaf. Lay 4 of the rolls next to each other. Layer over half the onion and half of the fruit or peel. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper well. Repeat with another layer of rolls (lay in opposite direction), onion and fruit. Pepper well.
Lay a heavy saucer on top (this helps to weigh down the rolls so they do not unroll), fill with water to the saucer and bring to a boil. Lower heat and continue to simmer gently for 50 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest for another 10 minutes.
Ladle a little of the broth into a deep plate and place two rolls.
Serving variation: In Poland, cabbage rolls are often served with sour cream. I think crème fra?che is tastier with these rolls or a slice of fresh soft cheese such as goat or a dollop of herbal fresh cheese such as Brisot. Garnish with a sprig of fresh herb.
Source(s):
I personally make these every weekend.
Cabbage and pork flavours compliment each other so perfectly in this dish. The Tangy Tomato Sauce adds not only a another dimension to the flavour but also adds a contrasting colour to enhance the presentation of the dish.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 10 rolls
Ingredients:
Stuffed Cabbage
1 medium cabbage
400g mince pork
1 clove Garlic, crushed
2 tbs Oyster sauce
1/2 cup cooked rice
2 tbs Soy sauce
3 spring onions, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 ts fresh ginger, grated
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 tbs seasame oil
1/2 ts chinese 5 spice (optional)
Tangy Tomato Sauce
4 tbs tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 a lemon, juiced
1/2 cup of apple cider
1 ts salt
1 tbs sugar
Directions:
1. Rinse the cabbage throughly under cold water. With a large knife remove the cabbage core and any tough or damaged outer leaves. Add to pot of boilling salted water and cook for approximately 6 minutes (until the leaves are just soft and can be loosened). Remove cabbage and set aside to drain and cool.
2. Combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, seasame oil, chinese five spice in a small bowl. Heat vegetable oil in wok or frying pan, once hot add garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds then add the minced pork and carrot. Stir constantly until pork is cooked then add oyster sauce mix. Continue cooking until liquid is reduced to almost nothing. Remove from heat and stir in spring onion and cooked rice.
3. On the center of each cabbage leaf, place about 3 tablespoons of the pork mixture. Fold over both sides of the leaf in to the centre and roll from the bottom of the leaf. Roll tightly. Repeat until all mixture is used. Place completed rolls in to steamer seam-side down. Steam for 10 minutes.
4. While the cabbage rolls are steaming make the sauce. Add all sauce ingredients to a pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
2 lbs ground pork, ground beef or ground lamb
1 cup uncooked rice
2 medium onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 (32 ounce) can tomato juice
1 (28 ounce) can sauerkraut
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 heads cabbage
Combine pork, rice, onions, pepper, garlic powder, salt and paprika in large bowl.
Steam heads of cabbage until leaves remove easily (about 5 minutes each in microwave along with 1/2 cup water, covered with plastic wrap works well) Take handfuls of meat mixture and roll up in cabbage leaves.
Place rolls in roasting pan.
After covering the bottom of the pan, top with half of the sauerkraut and half of the tomatoes.
Repeat with second layer.
Pour tomato juice over top.
Cover and bake 2 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.
You will never have anything as good as these...enjoy!!!