This is a recipe from my childhood days. In fact, I never attempted to make it, remembering hours of work my mom put into creating these delicious rolled leaves. I didn’t mind the help but to do it all surely seemed like a job fit for someone who had a lot of time, though I am fairly sure my mom didn’t. She just made enough to last for a few days, freezing the extras. While I will agree that this dish is time-consuming, it is also so flavorful and so worth the time. Plus, I used the slow cooker which helped. My kids were terrified when they saw so many veggies on the plate but my dreams of freezing these cabbage rolls never materialized, because they quickly evaporated from the dinner table. Worth every minute!
Ingredients
Serves 6
- 1 head of cabbage
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup dry jasmine rice
- 1 onion
- 5 medium mushrooms – white button work best
- 1 yellow or red bell pepper
- 1 carrot
- 1 large can of chopped tomatoes
- 1 can of tomato paste (optional)
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1-2 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- olive oil for cooking
Directions
1. Set a large pot of salted water to a boil. This needs to be big enough to fit your head of cabbage later.
2. Cook 1 cup of rice (makes 3) based on package directions. You will have more than you need. Just save some for another recipe. Once cooked, set aside to cool. You can also make it the day before or use leftover rice.
3. Cut out the cabbage core. Remove the dirtier outside leaves.
4. Gently lower the cabbage into the boiling water. Flip carefully after 3-5 minutes and let boil for another 3-5 minutes.
5. Take out the cabbage carefully (a slotting spoon will work) and remove some top leaves, lay flat to cool. Put the cabbage in the boiling pot and after 3-5 minutes, repeat the process with the leaves. Go until you have enough. Don’t worry if some leaves are slightly torn but try to keep most as intact as possible. Set aside to cool.
6. Heat up a large pan with some olive oil. Add ¼ finely chopped onion and brown until golden. Add 5 chopped mushrooms and stir.
7. Grate ½ a carrot. Add to the onion mushroom mixture. Dice the remainder of the carrot for use in the slow cooked later. (Once done, set the empty pan aside for step 13).
8. Mix 2 cups of cooked rice with your onion, mushroom, and carrot mixture. Season with salt, paprika and pepper and stir. Make sure rice is cool before proceeding to the next step.
9. Mix ground beef, ground pork and your rice and veggie mix altogether. That is your filling.
10. Now you are ready to roll them! Place each cabbage leaf stem down. If the stem is thick, you simply cut it out and then braid one side over the other.
11. Place a scoop (if you have an ice cream scooper, that works great here) of the filling in the middle of the cabbage leaf. Fold the sides and roll like a burrito. Repeat with each leaf.
12. Set up your slow cooker. Spray with cooking spray. Add ¼ chopped onion, 1 chopped bell pepper and ½ diced carrot to the bottom. If you have extra cabbage left, cut it up and add to the bottom too. That is the bed for your cabbage rolls.
13. Heat up your large pan again and add some olive oil. Place your cabbage rolls and cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, turn and do it again, don’t burn. You might need to work in batches.
14. Place the cabbage rolls into the slow cooker, on top of the veggies.
15. In a bowl, add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and 1 large tbsp of sour cream. Stir and pour on top of your cabbage rolls in the slow cooker.
16. Cook in the slow cooker on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6-8 hours.
If you want to freeze some, make sure they are completely cool before you do and pack them tightly.
Enjoy with some sour cream on the side!
