I used Ina Garten's stuffed cabbage recipe as a jumping off point, putting my twist on it. I was a little nervous when I saw that Ina's recipe calls for raisins, vinegar and brown sugar. I decided to trust Ina and include those ingredients in my adaptation of her recipe. I really like it. The sauce has a unique sweetness as well as a nice tangy note. I am happy to add this recipe to my collection.
If you like Stuffed cabbage Leaves I think you will like my Fennel Leak Casserole as well.
Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Large pot for boiling whole cabbage
- Large bowl
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup golden balsamic or red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup red wine omit if using red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the filling:
- ¾ pound ground chuck
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- ¼ cup finely diced yellow onion
- ¼ cup plain dried breadcrumbs
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 head green cabbage including outer leaves
Instructions
For the sauce:
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the diced onions, reserving ¼ cup for the filling. Cook over medium-low heat until the onions are translucent.
- Add the canned tomatoes, vinegar, wine, brown sugar, raisins, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set the sauce aside.
To prepare the cabbage leaves:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove the core of the cabbage with a paring knife.
- Immerse the head of cabbage in the boiling water, peeling off each leaf with tongs as soon as it s flexible.
- Set the leaves aside on paper towels. I used eight large leaves of cabbage. Remove the head of cabbage from the water and refrigerate for another use.
For the filling:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- To make the filling combine the ground chuck, eggs, onion, breadcrumbs, rice, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Add ½ cup of the sauce to the meat mixture and mix lightly with a fork.
- To assemble the stuffed leaves, place ½ cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Thin down the hard triangular rib from the base of each cabbage leaf with a small paring knife.
- Place ⅓ cup of filling near the rib edge of each leaf. Tuck the sides in fold the cabbage over the filling.
- Place half the cabbage rolls, seam sides down, over the sauce in the bottom of the dish.
- Continue assembling until all the cabbage rolls are in the pot. I ended up with eight.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the cabbage rolls.
- Cover the dish tightly with the lid and bake for 1 hour until the meat is cooked. Baste with the sauce from the bottom of the pot and serve piping hot.
Nutrition
Approximate nutrition information is provided as a convenience and courtesy only. You are encouraged to do your own calculations if precise data is required.
Comment