I love stuffed cabbage any time of the year but especially in the winter! After years of making Grandma’s version – which is delicious, I made a few tweaks. My version turned out pretty well. My Nana used three meats, beef, pork, and veal. I used beef and pork.
I hope you will try my version and let me know what you think.
Stuffed Cabbage
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Loading...Great stuffed cabbage recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cabbage
- Sauce:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ diced/chopped onion (medium sized onions)
- 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes and their juice (San Marzano tomatoes please)
- ¼ - ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ - 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 – 2 tbsp parsley
- Filling:
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ¼ - ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 cup cooked white rice (leftover rice from Chinese takeout works great)
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 – 2 tbsp parsley
- 1-2 tsp oregano
Instructions
Prepare cabbage – core the head of cabbage, then boil for approximately 15-20 minutes. Remove from water and let cool.
Prepare the filling – combine the beef, pork, parmesan, eggs, and rice to a large bowl along with the garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Gently mix with your hands until the meats and other ingredients are thoroughly combined. Let the mixture rest covered in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to one day. Note that when it is time to cook the mixture it is best to allow time for it to come to room temperature.
Prepare the sauce – Heat your pan to medium to med-high heat with olive oil. When you see the oil shimmer, it’s time to add the onion and a little salt. Cook for about 8 minutes or translucent. Add the tomatoes and garlic along with the brown sugar, crushed red pepper, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer for 30 minutes. Take about a half cup of the sauce and mix in with the filling.
Assembly time – Gently pull the cabbage leaves from the head of cabbage to leave the leaves fully intact. Spoon approximately 4 oz. of mixture into a large leaf and roll it up similar to a burrito. Place in the pot, seam side down.
Your pot should be prepared with a few spoonfuls of your sauce. As you get toward the center of the cabbage, the leaves get smaller. Use two over-lapping leaves if need to complete a roll. Place the rolls cabbage into the bed of the pot. Depending on the type of pot you use, you may ended up stacking the rolls in the pot. If that is the case alternate sauce, roll, then more sauce, another roll, and so on.
Once finished, pour any remaining sauce over the rolls. Bake covered in tin foil at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. After the timer goes off, remove from oven and let rest about 10 minutes.
Notes
A little sour cream on the side is a nice addition. Pro Tip: Put some foil or something else under the pot you’re cooking in just in case some of the sauce bubbles over.
