Cabbage Rolls

The woman who introduced me to cabbage rolls may be gone (RIP), but my love for all things cabbage shall never die.
stuffed cabbages
Mmm…

It’s time for another winter warmer recipe. And it’s fitting considering the week of wisco cold we just had, with the only highs being beer and cabbage rolls. Ready to warm up? Or impress some friends and family with a simple new dish just in time for Christmas?

Then let’s start stuffing some cabbage.

Time: To prep ~20-30 minutes, to cook ~45 minutes – 1 hour

What you’ll need:

  • 1 head of cabbage
  • 1 pound of ground beef (or turkey)
  • 2 cups of white rice
  • 2 green peppers
  • 32 oz of beef broth
  • 1 cup of onion
  • 1 small (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes (or fresh if you feel fancy)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • 2 Garlic cloves
  • Olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • Paprika

What to do:

  • Start by boiling the cabbage. This will take awhile, especially if you buy a cabbage the size of a small child like I did. But try boil it for about 20-30 minutes. Once the leaves of the cabbage start to separate, you’re good.

    Huge Cabbage
    Holy shit.
  • While your cabbage is cooking, bring a small pot of about 4-5 cups of salted water to a boil. Once that starts, add the rice and cook for about 15 minutes till done.
  • While waiting on all the stove stuff, let’s start with my least favorite thing, vegetable prep! Start chopping the peppers, garlic cloves, onions, and add it all to a large bowl along with the canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Once the rice is done, add it to the veggies, and mix in the ground beef. Season it all with hearty amounts of paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and 1 tbsp of olive oil.

    It’s christmas colored!
  • Crack an egg and beat it. Mix it in with the veggies, rice and meat. Mix everything really well. Make a sort of mutated play-doh with your hands, mashing everything together.
  • Now back to the cabbage, take it out of the pot and let it cool till you’re able to touch it. The leaves should easily peel off toward the stem. I had about 8-10 good leaves for stuffing. I chopped up the rest of the cabbage and added it to the stuffing. Waste not, want not, etc.
  • On each cabbage leaf, add a spoonful or two of the stuffing. Roll up the cabbage – they seem to follow a nice natural path to wrap up easily, as if God himself seemingly wanted cabbages stuffed with dead cow meat.
  • Continue until you’re out of leaves. Any left over mixture can be added to the broth as a stew of sorts. Or sautéed in a pan as a nice topping for the rolls.
  • Place the stuffed rolls in a large cooking pot and cover with beef broth. Cover with a lid and cook over medium-low for 45 minutes to about an hour. Let ’em simmer a bit longer at a lower heat for more flavor.

    Enjoy with cheese, hot sauce, or more steamed cabbage! Also, try a more traditional method and swap the beef broth for tomato sauce for another delicious way to try them!

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