NOTE: This is the perfect main course to serve to a dinner party. These are so damn delicious that you should figure on everyone having at least two of the cabbage rolls. You could certainly serve these with potatoes or noodles, however I would recommend a green salad alongside them. These are in a nice blend of sour and sweet tomato sauce that really makes the cabbage, rice, and meat filling taste exciting. You can serve with either a red or a white wine.
Ingredients:
Cabbage:
–12 large Cabbage Leaves (1 large or 2 medium sized cabbages should provide them)
–2 tablespoons Vinegar
–1 teaspoon Salt
Filling:
–1-pound Ground Beef (you can easily substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef)
–3/4 cup of Rice, cooked (use ¾ cup of dry rice and 1 ½ cups of water)
–1/2 cup of Chopped Onion
–1 whole Egg
–1/2 cup of Milk
–2 teaspoons of Salt
–1 teaspoon of Ground Black Pepper
–1 teaspoon Powdered Garlic
–1 teaspoon Dried or Chopped Fresh Parsley
Sauce:
–1 15-ounce can of Tomato Sauce
–1 28-ounce can of Crushed Tomatoes
–2 tablespoons of Sugar
–1/4 cup of Vinegar
–1 teaspoon of Salt
–1/2 cup of Water
–2 tablespoons of Corn Starch
Directions:
Boil 1-½ cups of water, covered. When it comes to a boil, add the ¾ cup of white rice, return to a boil, cover and reduce heat to the lowest setting. It takes 20 minutes to cook the rice, which gives you enough time to start taking the cabbage apart. Do not overcook the rice at all.
Take the large cabbage and with a sharp knife, cut out the heart at the bottom of the cabbage to extract an inch-long pyramid so you can separate the leaves from the core. Working carefully, start to disassemble the cabbage, by removing the cabbage leaves wholly intact. You can peel them away either from the top or the bottom. Depending on the thickness of the center ribs of the individual leaves, you will want to cut away a small one-inch “V” shaped section at the bottom center. You should now have 12 large separate cabbage leaves.
While the rice finishes boiling, start assembling the sauce in a large pot or mixing bowl. Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and salt, and stir.
In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in ½ cup of water. Add it to the sauce, and stir it in. Set the mixing bowl full of sauce aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl place the raw ground beef, chopped onion, egg, milk, salt, black pepper, powdered garlic, and parsley.
When the rice is finished cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
While it is cooling, add one inch of water to a large frying pan along with two tablespoons of vinegar and one teaspoon of salt, and bring it to a boil.
Using a pair of kitchen tongs, place three cabbage rolls at a time in the boiling water, filling the leaves with water, and turning them. The object is to steam them until they soften, but do not over cook them. You just want them to be pliable. Remove the first three large cabbage leaves from the frying pan and set them aside on a dinner plate or flat cooking dish. Proceed to do the same with the additional cabbage leaves. Set them aside to cool off.
Add the cooled off rice to the meat and other filling ingredients. Using a large cooking spoon or spatula, cut and fold the rice, meat, raw egg, milk, and spices (salt, pepper, garlic, parsley) together until well mixed. Do not over-mix or you will bruise and break the cooked rice.
Now you are ready to start the assembly line. On a plate, cutting board or the kitchen counter, take an individual cabbage leaf and set it down. Using a large mixing or serving spoon, take a spoonful of the meat filling mixture, and using your hands form 1/12th of the mixture into an oblong “roll” shape. Place the “roll” shaped oblong meatball in the middle end of the cabbage leaf, fold in the sides or the cabbage leaf and roll it length-wise into a neat cabbage roll, making certain that you see only cabbage leaf when you are finished.
Place the expertly rolled cabbage leaf into a flat oblong cooking dish, rib side facing upward. A large Pyrex or ceramic cooking dish is perfect for this. Repeat the cabbage rolling process until you have 12 perfect cabbage rolls lined up next to each other. They should look nicely bright green, rib side up, so you see nothing but perfect cabbage rolls.
Using a ladle or spoon, and cover each cabbage roll evenly with sauce. When you are finished, pour any remaining sauce into the baking dish to evenly cover the cabbage rolls.
Since you dissected your head(s) of cabbage to remove the very largest leaves, you are now left with a tight little ball of cabbage, which is what is left over. Like you were making a course Cole Slaw, slice or chop up the remaining cabbage on a cutting board, or use kitchen scissors. With this chopped cabbage, evenly sprinkle it all over the top of your beautiful cabbage rolls and bright red sauce. The reason you are doing this, is to protect the cabbage rolls from burning in the oven. The shredded leaves will take the heat, and keep the beautiful cabbage rolls underneath moist and unburned.
Place the perfectly assembled baking dish with your cabbage rolls, sauce and layer of chopped cabbage into a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes the sauce will be bubbling and slightly thickened into a delicious tomato gravy that is excitingly savory, lightly spicy, and sour and sweet.
As you serve these fantastic tasting cabbage rolls on the plate, cover them with the tasty tomato gravy, and any of the chopped cabbage topping that has fallen into the pan.
NOTE: Since this yummy dish is right out of Poland, while you are waiting the 45 minutes for the cabbage rolls to come out of the oven, why not mix up a martini with Polish potato vodka? I am not saying it is necessary, but it sure sounds like a great idea to me. Cheers!
Cabbage:
–12 large Cabbage Leaves (1 large or 2 medium sized cabbages should provide them)
–2 tablespoons Vinegar
–1 teaspoon Salt
Filling:
–1-pound Ground Beef (you can easily substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef)
–3/4 cup of Rice, cooked (use ¾ cup of dry rice and 1 ½ cups of water)
–1/2 cup of Chopped Onion
–1 whole Egg
–1/2 cup of Milk
–2 teaspoons of Salt
–1 teaspoon of Ground Black Pepper
–1 teaspoon Powdered Garlic
–1 teaspoon Dried or Chopped Fresh Parsley
Sauce:
–1 15-ounce can of Tomato Sauce
–1 28-ounce can of Crushed Tomatoes
–2 tablespoons of Sugar
–1/4 cup of Vinegar
–1 teaspoon of Salt
–1/2 cup of Water
–2 tablespoons of Corn Starch
Directions:
Boil 1-½ cups of water, covered. When it comes to a boil, add the ¾ cup of white rice, return to a boil, cover and reduce heat to the lowest setting. It takes 20 minutes to cook the rice, which gives you enough time to start taking the cabbage apart. Do not overcook the rice at all.
Take the large cabbage and with a sharp knife, cut out the heart at the bottom of the cabbage to extract an inch-long pyramid so you can separate the leaves from the core. Working carefully, start to disassemble the cabbage, by removing the cabbage leaves wholly intact. You can peel them away either from the top or the bottom. Depending on the thickness of the center ribs of the individual leaves, you will want to cut away a small one-inch “V” shaped section at the bottom center. You should now have 12 large separate cabbage leaves.
While the rice finishes boiling, start assembling the sauce in a large pot or mixing bowl. Add the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and salt, and stir.
In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in ½ cup of water. Add it to the sauce, and stir it in. Set the mixing bowl full of sauce aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl place the raw ground beef, chopped onion, egg, milk, salt, black pepper, powdered garlic, and parsley.
When the rice is finished cooking, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
While it is cooling, add one inch of water to a large frying pan along with two tablespoons of vinegar and one teaspoon of salt, and bring it to a boil.
Using a pair of kitchen tongs, place three cabbage rolls at a time in the boiling water, filling the leaves with water, and turning them. The object is to steam them until they soften, but do not over cook them. You just want them to be pliable. Remove the first three large cabbage leaves from the frying pan and set them aside on a dinner plate or flat cooking dish. Proceed to do the same with the additional cabbage leaves. Set them aside to cool off.
Add the cooled off rice to the meat and other filling ingredients. Using a large cooking spoon or spatula, cut and fold the rice, meat, raw egg, milk, and spices (salt, pepper, garlic, parsley) together until well mixed. Do not over-mix or you will bruise and break the cooked rice.
Now you are ready to start the assembly line. On a plate, cutting board or the kitchen counter, take an individual cabbage leaf and set it down. Using a large mixing or serving spoon, take a spoonful of the meat filling mixture, and using your hands form 1/12th of the mixture into an oblong “roll” shape. Place the “roll” shaped oblong meatball in the middle end of the cabbage leaf, fold in the sides or the cabbage leaf and roll it length-wise into a neat cabbage roll, making certain that you see only cabbage leaf when you are finished.
Place the expertly rolled cabbage leaf into a flat oblong cooking dish, rib side facing upward. A large Pyrex or ceramic cooking dish is perfect for this. Repeat the cabbage rolling process until you have 12 perfect cabbage rolls lined up next to each other. They should look nicely bright green, rib side up, so you see nothing but perfect cabbage rolls.
Using a ladle or spoon, and cover each cabbage roll evenly with sauce. When you are finished, pour any remaining sauce into the baking dish to evenly cover the cabbage rolls.
Since you dissected your head(s) of cabbage to remove the very largest leaves, you are now left with a tight little ball of cabbage, which is what is left over. Like you were making a course Cole Slaw, slice or chop up the remaining cabbage on a cutting board, or use kitchen scissors. With this chopped cabbage, evenly sprinkle it all over the top of your beautiful cabbage rolls and bright red sauce. The reason you are doing this, is to protect the cabbage rolls from burning in the oven. The shredded leaves will take the heat, and keep the beautiful cabbage rolls underneath moist and unburned.
Place the perfectly assembled baking dish with your cabbage rolls, sauce and layer of chopped cabbage into a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes the sauce will be bubbling and slightly thickened into a delicious tomato gravy that is excitingly savory, lightly spicy, and sour and sweet.
As you serve these fantastic tasting cabbage rolls on the plate, cover them with the tasty tomato gravy, and any of the chopped cabbage topping that has fallen into the pan.
NOTE: Since this yummy dish is right out of Poland, while you are waiting the 45 minutes for the cabbage rolls to come out of the oven, why not mix up a martini with Polish potato vodka? I am not saying it is necessary, but it sure sounds like a great idea to me. Cheers!