Braised Polenta Cabbage Rolls Recipes

MY GRANDMA'S BRAISED CABBAGE

Steps:

• In a medium pot or Dutch oven, cook the onions in the butter over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the apple, brown sugar, wine, vinegar, and water, and bring up to a simmer, stirring. Cover and braise for 30 minutes, stirring once and checking on the texture. Cook a little less for a firmer cabbage; a little more for softer cabbage.
• Add a small splash of cider vinegar just before serving.

BRAISED STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• To make the stuffing: Pour the milk over the bread chunks in a bowl, and let them soak for a few minutes, until completely saturated.
• Using a food processor, mince the pancetta, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic into a fine-textured pestata. You should have about 2 cups total.
• Pour the 3 tablespoons of olive oil into the heavy pan, and set over medium-high heat. Scrape in 1/2 cup of pestata, and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until it starts to dry and stick on the pan bottom. Crumble the sausage into the skillet, and cook, stirring, until all the meat is sizzling and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, and pour in the white wine. Bring to a boil, and cook until the wine has evaporated completely. Remove from the heat, and immediately scrape the sausage into a large bowl to cool.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°. Fill the big pot with water, and bring to a boil.
• When the meat has cooled, squeeze the milk from the soaked bread (catch it in the bowl, and use it for another purpose). Crumble the softened bread over the sausage, and combine them with your hands, then work in the beaten egg, chopped parsley, and grated cheese, tossing all together into a loose stuffing.
• To prepare the cabbage: Pull off and discard any bruised or torn outer leaves. Cut out the core of the cabbage, and separate the largest leaves from the head, keeping them intact. Lay each leaf flat, outside up, and with a sharp paring knife shave off the raised ridge of the rib at the leaf base. When you've trimmed twelve good-sized leaves (and a few extra) for the rolls, slice the remaining cluster of small inner leaves into shreds about 1/4 inch wide.
• Drop the big, trimmed leaves into the boiling water, and blanch them until soft and quite floppy, about 7 minutes. Cool them in a bowl of icy water; drain well, lay them on paper towels, and pat dry.
• Return the big sauté pan to the stove (wipe out any browned bits), pour in the 1/4 cup olive oil, and turn on medium-high heat. Stir in the remaining pestata, and cook until dried and sticking, about 4 minutes. Toss in all the shredded cabbage and 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, and cook, stirring, until the cabbage starts to wilt. Pour in the white wine, raise the heat to bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes or so, to blend the flavors.
• As the sauce simmers, make the cabbage rolls. Lay out each softened leaf with its shaved rib side down. Take about 1/3 cup of stuffing in your fingers, form it into a plump log, and lay it on the leaf. Roll the bottom of the leaf over the filling, tuck the sides in, and roll up tightly the rest of the way.
• When all the polpette are formed, lower the heat under the sauce and place each roll in the sauté pan, seam side down. Pour in the stock, submerging the rolls, heat to a bubbling boil, and put on the pan lid. Set the pan in the oven to braise the rolls for an hour. Remove the lid, and push the rolls down in the sauce, which will have reduced. Bake, uncovered, for another 30 minutes or so, until the sauce has reduced and thickened and the tops of the rolls are nicely caramelized.
• Serve in a warm bowl with some of the sauce, accompanied by rice, potatoes, or polenta.

BRAISED CABBAGE STUFFED WITH PORK

Steps:

• To make the sauce:
• Puree the onions, carrots, celery and garlic to a coarse paste in a food processor. Coat a large wide pan with olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it's brown and crispy. Add the pureed veggies and cook them until they become very soft and aromatic and are starting to turn brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the white wine and let it reduce by half. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bay leaves, and thyme bundle and season with salt, to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Reserve.
• To prep the cabbage:
• Add the vinegar to large pot of well-salted water and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Set up a bowl of well-salted iced water. Add the cabbage to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then immediately plunge it into the bowl of iced water. When the leaves are cool, remove them from the water and pat them dry. Reserve.
• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and put over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt, to taste. Cook the onions until they are translucent and very aromatic, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl combine the ground pork, pork sausage, chicken livers, if using, bread crumbs, Parmesan, egg, rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes. Season with salt, to taste. Add the chicken stock and mix well to combine. Stir in the cooked onions and garlic. Make a tester patty, cook it and eat it. It should taste really good, if it doesn't, adjust the seasoning.
• Lay each cabbage leaf on a flat work surface. Spoon a generous 1/4 cup of filling into each leaf. Fold the outside edges in and roll the leaf around the stuffing. Arrange each roll with the seam side down so that the roll will hold itself shut.
• Add the cabbage rolls to the sauce. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the sauce has reduced to a thick, sauce-like consistency, about15 to 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer the cabbage rolls to a serving platter and lightly cover with the sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.
• MMMMMM...cabbage!

QUAIL MEATLOAF ON POLENTA AND BRAISED CABBAGE

Steps:

• To make the quail stock:
• Roast the reserved quail bones and skin in an ovenproof saucepan until the bones take on color. Transfer the pan to the stovetop and set over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, rosemary, and sage. Add the wine and let it evaporate. Add the water and simmer the stock until it has reduced to one-quarter its original volume; you should have about 1 cup of stock. Strain out the solids and reserve.
• To make the meatloaf:
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Grind the reserved quail meat in a meat grinder; you'll need 1 pound of meat. In a medium bowl, immerse the bread in the milk until it's soaked. Meanwhile, combine the quail meat, sausage, eggs, Parmesan, parsley, and 1 teaspoon of the sage in a large bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Squeeze the bread to remove excess milk (discard the milk) and add it to the bowl. Mix well. Divide the mixture in half, and form each half into a loaf no wider than 3-inches in diameter. Roll each loaf in the breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Melt 4 tablespoons of butter with the olive oil in a large ovenproof saute pan set over medium-high heat. When the butter solids turn brown, sear both meatloafs until browned on all sides (if they don't both fit, sear them one at a time, adding more butter for the second loaf). Add the shallots, garlic, sage sprigs, and rosemary to the pan. When the onion begins to color, add the wine, let it evaporate, and then add 3/4 cup of the quail stock.
• Bake until the juices run clear when pricked with a skewer, 45 to 60 minutes. Transfer the meatloaf to a clean plate, remove and discard the sage and rosemary sprigs, and make the sauce in the pan. Add the cream and use a hand blender to puree the pan sauce. Set the pan over medium heat and let it reduce to a pleasing saucy consistency.
• To make the cabbage:
• Heat the butter and olive oil in a large braising pan set over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and carrots, season with salt and pepper, and stir. Cover and reduce the heat to medium-low heat. When the cabbage begins to wilt, add the wine, and let it evaporate. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of quail stock. Let the pan dry out, reduce the heat to very low, cover tightly, and braise until the cabbage is very tender and starts to color and stick to the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• To serve:
• Cut the meatloaf into 1/3-inch thick slices and then cut each slice in half. Use an ice cream scoop to portion about 1/4 cup of polenta in the middle of a plate. Press a piece of plastic wrap on top and flatten the polenta to a circle that's about 4-inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick. Fan the meatloaf slices over the polenta, scoop some braised cabbage alongside and spoon the sauce over everything. Finish with freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
• This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

BUTTERED-BRAISED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium-low heat until mostly melted. Add cabbage. Place remaining 1 tablespoon butter on top of the cabbage. Cover and cook until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Uncover and stir cabbage to coat evenly with butter. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, about 3 minutes. Season with black pepper.

GINGERY CABBAGE ROLLS WITH PORK AND RICE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt.
• Prepare the cabbage: Remove about 12 large outer leaves, reserving the rest of the cabbage for another use. Once the water boils, lower the heat to medium so that the water reaches a gentle boil. Add the cabbage leaves, about 4 at a time, and cook until tender and flexible but leaves remain intact and maintain their crunch, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a towel-lined plate and set aside to cool slightly while you make the filling. Repeat with remaining cabbage leaves.
• Prepare the filling: In a large bowl, combine pork, rice, egg, scallions, ginger and soy sauce with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
• Assemble the cabbage rolls: Working with one cooked cabbage leaf at a time, place it on a cutting board or other flat surface with its stem end at the bottom. Spoon a heaping 1/4 cup of the pork mixture in the center and mold the mixture into a rough 2- to 3-inch log. Pull the stem end over the meat mixture, and fold the right and left sides of the leaf over and roll tightly to the very top. Place the cabbage rolls seam-side down in a large Dutch oven or ovenproof, straight-sided saucepan. Repeat with the remaining cabbage and pork filling.
• Pour the chicken broth over the cabbage rolls and bring to a boil over medium. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven, and bake until cabbage rolls are fork tender and the meat mixture is cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve with ladles of broth over the rolls and a drizzle of sesame oil.

BRAISED POLENTA CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• 1. Prepare cabbage leaves: blanch leaves in boiling water until slightly tender/pliable. Set aside to cool) 2. Prepare filling: heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan on medium heat and sauté the onions about 10 minutes, stirring often, until translucent. Lower the heat and continue cooking until carmelized (add water if necessary to prevent sticking) Meanwhile, in another heavy saucepan, bring the water and salt to a boil. While whisking briskly, poor in the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed, until the polenta is fairly stiff and tastes done. stir in the onions, cheese and pepper (if using instant polenta, prepare according to package in the pot with the onions). Set aside. 3. Prepare the sauce: warm oil in a saucepan and sauté garlic until just golden. Add tomato juice and sauerkraut and bring to a simmer. Stir in dill. Pour sauce into an unoiled 9x12" baking pan and set aside. 4. Assemble the rolls: heat oven to 350• put about 1/3 cup of filling at the broad end of each leaf, fold the side edges toward the center to cover filling and then roll up lengthwise. Place rolls seam side down in the baking pan. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. To serve, spoon some sauce over each roll and garnish with sour cream