Martha Stewarts Healthy Turkey Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipes

STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Using a paring knife, remove center core of cabbage. In a large nonreactive stockpot, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add cabbage and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until outer leaves are bright green and tender. Lift cabbage from water, and remove outer leaves. Return cabbage to boiling water, and repeat brief cooking and removal of leaves until all leaves are cooked. Reserve 2 cups cabbage cooking water. Trim thick center vein from bottom of each leaf. Reserve four large outer leaves to line bottom of pan.
• In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until golden and tender, about 8 minutes. In a large bowl, combine onion mixture, rice, beef, pork, salt, pepper, parsley flakes, green pepper, and celery. Stir to combine.
• Add about 1/3 cup rice filling to one cabbage leaf. Fold sides of cabbage over filling, and, starting with the stem end, roll the cabbage up. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
• Line a 5-quart Dutch oven with reserved outside leaves. Transfer stuffed cabbage leaves to Dutch oven.
• In a large bowl, combine tomato puree and the reserved 2 cups of cabbage cooking water. Pour some of the tomato sauce over cabbage to almost cover. Sprinkle apple over top of cabbage leaves. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a gentle simmer; cover. Cook for 1 hour or until cabbage is very tender, adding additional tomato sauce as needed.
• Place sour cream in a small bowl, and ladle in about 3/4 cup of tomato sauce from the cooked stuffed cabbage rolls. Whisk to combine. Add sour cream mixture back to Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Serve with additional sour cream.

PERFECT ROAST TURKEY 101

Steps:

• Rinse turkey with cool water, and dry with paper towels. Let stand for 2 hours at room temperature.
• Place rack on lowest level in oven. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine melted butter and white wine in a bowl. Fold a large piece of cheesecloth into quarters and cut it into a 17-inch, 4-layer square. Immerse cheesecloth in the butter and wine; let soak.
• Place turkey, breast side up, on a roasting rack in a heavy metal roasting pan. If the turkey comes with a pop-up timer, remove it; an instant-read thermometer is a much more accurate indication of doneness. Fold wing tips under turkey. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper inside turkey. Fill large cavity and neck cavity loosely with as much stuffing as they hold comfortably; do not pack tightly. (Cook remaining stuffing in a buttered baking dish for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.) Tie legs together loosely with kitchen string (a bow will be easy to untie later). Fold neck flap under, and secure with toothpicks. Rub turkey with the softened butter, and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper.
• Lift cheesecloth out of liquid, and squeeze it slightly, leaving it very damp. Spread it evenly over the breast and about halfway down the sides of the turkey; it can cover some of the leg area. Place turkey, legs first, in oven. Cook for 30 minutes. Using a pastry brush, baste cheesecloth and exposed parts of turkey with butter and wine. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to cook for 2 1/2 more hours, basting every 30 minutes and watching pan juices; if the pan gets too full, spoon out juices, reserving them for gravy.
• After this third hour of cooking, carefully remove and discard cheesecloth. Turn roasting pan so that the breast is facing the back of the oven. Baste turkey with pan juices. If there are not enough juices, continue to use butter and wine. The skin gets fragile as it browns, so baste carefully. Cook 1 more hour, basting after 30 minutes.
• After this fourth hour of cooking, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. Do not poke into a bone. The temperature should reach 180 degrees (stuffing should be between 140 degrees and 160 degrees) and the turkey should be golden brown. The breast does not need to be checked for temperature. If legs are not yet fully cooked, baste turkey, return to oven, and cook another 20 to 30 minutes.
• When fully cooked, transfer turkey to a serving platter, and let rest for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make the gravy. Pour all the pan juices into a glass measuring cup. Let stand until grease rises to the surface, about 10 minutes, then skim it off. Meanwhile, place roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup dry red or white wine, or water, to the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the pan until liquid boils and all the crisp bits are unstuck from pan. Add giblet stock to pan. Stir well, and bring back to a boil. Cook until liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the defatted pan juices, and cook over medium-high heat 10 minutes more. You will have about 2 1/2 cups of gravy. Season to taste, strain into a warm gravy boat, and serve with turkey.

STUFFED CABBAGE WITH BEEF AND RICE

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook cabbage, turning often, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and, with tongs, gently separate leaves. Cut out thick ribs from 8 to 10 of the largest leaves and set leaves aside. Shred remaining cabbage and place in an 8-inch square baking dish set on a baking sheet.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Transfer half the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar to saucepan, season with salt and pepper, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce on top of shredded cabbage in dish.
• To bowl with onion mixture, add rice, ground beef, and egg and season with salt and pepper. With your hands, mix well, then divide into 8 portions. Working with a few leaves at a time, lay cabbage on a work surface, overlapping smaller leaves to form one larger leaf if necessary. Place a portion of beef in the center of each. Fold bottom half of cabbage over filling, then fold in sides and roll up tightly. Transfer cabbage rolls, seam side down, to baking dish. Top with remaining sauce, cover dish with foil, and bake on sheet 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until sauce is bubbling, about 10 minutes.

PORK-STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• In a pot of boiling water, cook cabbage until outer leaves are bright green and pliable, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from pot. Pull off 8 leaves. Trim thick core from each leaf.
• In a bowl, mix pork, bread, carrot, 2 scallions, tomato paste, preserves, 1/4 cup broth, sage, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place 1 cabbage leaf in a small bowl. Fill halfway with pork mixture; fold leaf over filling. Repeat with remaining leaves. Place rolls, seam sides down, in a single layer on a heatproof plate.
• In a 12-inch skillet fitted with a round rack, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer over medium heat. Place plate with rolls on rack. Pour remaining 1/4 cup broth over rolls; sprinkle with remaining scallion. Cover; steam until firm, 12 to 15 minutes (add more water as needed). Serve with steaming juices and scallions.

STUFFED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Butterfly turkey: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Use a slicing knife and your fingers to remove skin from breast, reserving skin. Turn the breast over (so the side that had the skin is facing down), and lay it flat on the cutting board. Holding the blade of the knife parallel to the board, about halfway down, slice into the thickest portion of the breast. Cut along the length of the breast, but not all the way through. Unfold so the turkey opens like a book. Remove the tough piece of cartilage. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until the turkey is of uniform thickness (about 1/2 inch). Season with salt and pepper.
• Stuff turkey: Spread stuffing evenly (about 3/4 inch thick) over turkey, leaving a 1-inch border. Starting with one short end, roll into a log, completely enclosing the stuffing, and wrap the reserved skin around the breast, over the seam. Season all over with salt and pepper. Roll in a piece of cheesecloth, and secure both ends with kitchen twine. Tie twine around the roast in four evenly spaced intervals, then rub butter evenly all over cloth.
• Roast: Roast on a rimmed baking sheet until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the middle registers 155 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes (the internal temperature should rise to 165 degrees).
• Slice and serve: Remove cheesecloth and twine, then place turkey on a cutting board and slice crosswise about 3/4 inch thick.