I first saw this dish in a publication way way back when I was in college and I said to myself that I’m gonna make this dish one day…after a decade and a half, I finally got to make it..yay!  I’ve since lost that recipe I’ve been so meaning to make, luckily there’s internet already and I easily found a replacement, a simple one, or so it seems. 

This is not a quick  and easy dish to make as there are many steps, for one:  the cabbage leaves need to be softened first so it won’t tear when you roll it, and the way to make it is by boiling the leaves for a few minutes and then cooling it first before it can be used- (now I remember why I did not make it before :); but  that’s about the hardest part of making this dish, it gets easier after that part.

Fortunately I came across Brad’s blog and there he shared his mom’s secret of making this dish easier:  freezing the cabbage heads at least 3 days before and soaking it in hot water.. it works!   I would have tried  his mom’s recipe only I couldn’t find a couple of ingredients in the list :) 

When it was time to do this dish, I was reading the recipe again, I realized I bought small heads of cabbage, I did not see the note that large cabbage should be used, well, I continued making it anyway.. while I’m still psyched to do it :)

as you can see..it did turn out fine..

..pour in the rest of the sauceover the rolls

..lay the small pcs of leaves on top to protect the rolls then drizzle olive oil…bake

and serve… it turned out  dry, and we want the sauce so what I did is reconstitute the sauce with water and season it again.. next time I’ll use the slow-cooker method

 Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Galumpkis)
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Serves: about 1 dozen

Ingredients

Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 1/2 quarts crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cabbage Rolls:
11/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Splash dry red wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups steamed white rice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large heads green cabbage, about 3 pounds each

To make the sauce:
Coat a 3-quart saucepan with the oil and place over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar; simmer, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

Place a skillet over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the tomato paste, a splash of wine, parsley, and 1/2 cup of the prepared sweet and sour tomato sauce, mix to incorporate and then take it off the heat. Combine the ground meat in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, the cooked rice, and the sauteed onion mixture. Toss the filling together with your hands to combine, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove the large, damaged outer leaves from the cabbages and set aside. Cut out the cores of the cabbages with a sharp knife and carefully pull off all the rest of the leaves, keeping them whole and as undamaged as possible, (get rid of all the small leaves and use them for coleslaw or whatever.) Blanch the cabbage leaves in the pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, or until pliable. Run the leaves under cool water then lay them out so you can assess just how many blankets you have to wrap up the filling. Next, carefully cut out the center vein from the leaves so they will be easier to roll up. Take the reserved big outer leaves and lay them on the bottom of a casserole pan, let part of the leaves hang out the sides of the pan. This insulation will prevent the cabbage rolls from burning on the bottom when baked. Use all the good looking leaves to make the cabbage rolls. Put about 1/2 cup of the meat filling in the center of the cabbage and starting at what was the stem-end, fold the sides in and roll up the cabbage to enclose the filling. Place the cabbage rolls side by side in rows, seam-side down, in a casserole pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the remaining sweet and sour tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls. Fold the hanging leaves over the top to enclose and keep the moisture in. Drizzle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 1 hour until the meat is cooked.

♥Thanks for reading and have a nice day!! ♥ :)

You may also want to see these:

• Cheesy Spinach and Silken Tofu Ravioli Thu 03 Jun 2010
• Mini Pecan Pies with Sweet Tea Caramel Sauce Tue 10 Nov 2009
• Tyler Florence's Smothered Pork Chops Mon 21 Sep 2009