There’s a little Danish, a little Polish, a little Russian in my Cabbage Rolls. The original recipe was handed down to my mother from my Danish grandmother, but then my sauce has been sweetened up a bit as a nod to my hubby’s Eastern European roots. I think I’ve included far more herbs than were in the original recipe but perhaps that’s my modern Canadian creative license. Cook these up and serve with rye or pumpernickel bread.
The other terrific recipe that I’ve also made and that is requested from my clan is Bon Appetit’s Stuffed Cabbage recipe. It calls for Savoy cabbage and doesn’t have my assortment of herbs, but there’s lots of garlic and flavour.
Both options are guaranteed to please. And don’t forget the sour cream as garnish. It really does make a difference!
Ingredients
Filling
3 cups brown basmati rice, cooked
1-½ pounds lean ground beef
1 medium sized cooking onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves chopped finely
3-4 springs fresh thyme or oregano (or both), leaves chopped finely
1 cup Tomato Sauce (below)
1 large white cabbage, frozen
Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 medium sized cooking onion, diced
4 springs fresh rosemary, leaves chopped finely
3-4 springs fresh thyme or oregano (or both), leaves chopped finely
2 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes
2 720-ml jars of tomato puree
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
sea salt
freshly gound black pepper
Sour cream for garnish
Method
Note: Forget steaming or boiling the cabbage to remove the leaves. This freezing method is way easier – and you won’t burn your fingers!
A few days before you want to make this dish, put the head of cabbage in the freezer. Remove it at least 8-12 hours before you want to start preparing this recipe, so your cabbage has time to fully thaw.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Remove your cabbage from the freezer and thaw it to room temperature. Set aside. Give this a good 24 hours to thaw.
In a large saucepan, sauté garlic and onion in olive oil until soft. Add fresh herbs and stir around in the pan; leave for a couple minutes. Add the remainder of the sauce ingredients and stir until well blended and then let simmer on the stove for 1-2 hours—or more if you have time. You can make this beforehand as well and then keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble your cabbage rolls.
Place about 1 cup of your sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients and mix until well blended and set aside.
Cut the root stem off of the cabbage and then gently peel off the leaves from your cabbage so that each remains in one piece—go slowly as some will start to tear. With a sharp paring knife, trim off some of the thick core/vein of each leaf.
Next, shape a couple of generous tablespoons of filling into the shape of a roll and place in a cabbage leaf. Roll the leaf up so you have a little bundle and place in your baking pan. Repeat with all of your leaves and line them up in the pan in rows.
Ladle tomato sauce over your pan of cabbage rolls until covered and then place in 350F oven for an hour to cook.
To serve, place a couple of rolls on a plate, spoon on some of the tomato sauce and top with a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!
