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 FlorenceServes: 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 pepperCabbage 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 eachTo 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!! ♥ 🙂
Wow…your cabbage rolls look very neat and delicious. I love cabbage rolls. This sauce is new to me…looks very delicious. I would love to try. Thanks for sharing.
WOW you have an amazing blog!!! Your recipe arsenal is huge, off to surf your bloggie. Thx for the compliments on my daughter and my caramels 🙂
I love cabbage rolls; we make them a lot in Lebanese cuisine; I was despairing of finding cabbage with tender enough leaves, even after boiling, so I was so excited to read about that tip! which I will try next time, thanks!
Love the way yours turned out, beautiful!
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I love cabbage rolls. This looks fab!
Gosh, you made them look so inviting! I made these before but in bigger size or maybe I’ll make them in smaller size next round and top with cheese. How does it sound like? Good?
très appétissant, je prends note
bonne soirée
wow they looks amazing I used to make these with Serbian friends
Hey Olive, I love anything rolled in cabbage-so good! I actually had cabbage in pastry for lunch (that pastry I made a week ago-it was even better a week later-weird). Anyway, this looks delicious and wholesome…
une belle assiette ça a l’air délicieux bravo
bonne soirée
They look so delicious! I love them and have not made them for a while but will now. The beef, pork combo is great and I will try that! Thanks!
Freeze the cabbage before hand? I’ll have to try that trick – thanks for sharing it!
this is so fantastic and gourmet looking…I will have to give this one a try…so tempting 🙂
i’ve always wanted to make cabbage rolls. just it seems like tons of work. but the more i look at those wonderful recipes, like yours, out there, the more i want to go for it.