Mothers Best Stuffed Cabbage 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.

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.

BEST STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Stir in 4 teaspoons salt. Remove loose, outer leaves from the cabbage and place in the boiling water for 1 minute. Remove from the water and set aside.
• Remove core from the cabbage and carefully place the head in the boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes, removing the outer leaves one at a time as they loosen every minute. Set aside 12 large leaves and reserve inner portion of the cabbage for another use.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Set aside 2 tablespoons minced onion for cabbage rolls; add remaining onion to the hot oil. Cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, undrained diced tomatoes, water, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Prepare cabbage rolls: Mix sirloin, rice, garlic, reserved minced onion, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, remaining pepper, and allspice together in a bowl until well combined.
• Place a softened cabbage leaf on a cutting board and remove the bottom, tough portion of the stem. Place about 3 tablespoons meat filling into the center of the leaf. Fold the sides inward and roll the leaf up tightly, like a burrito or spring roll. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
• Pour 1 cup tomato sauce mixture in a bottom of a 9x13-inch or 11x7-inch baking dish. Place cabbage rolls, seam-side down, in the baking dish and pour remaining sauce on top. Cover tightly with foil.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Lightly squeeze a wedge of lemon over each serving and garnish with parsley.

MOTHER'S BEST STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• In a large pot (or two separate pots if cabbage won't fit in one), add enough water to come halfway up cabbage heads and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until a knife can be inserted about 1/4 inch into each cabbage head. Remove the cabbage heads from the water one at a time and remove outer leaves to a platter covered with paper towels to drain and cool. Only the outer leaves will be cooked - when you reach the point where the leaves are still raw, return cabbage heads to the boiling water to cook thoroughly until a knife can be inserted all the way to the middle of the head. Remove remaining cabbage heads from water and carefully peel away remaining leaves, adding them to the first batch. Stop peeling leaves when you reach the small ones as they will not be big enough to make rolls. Also, set aside any damaged or overcooked leaves. Save the remaining cabbage heads, save the water in which the heads were boiled, and set the leaves aside.
• Heat oil in a separate skillet. Add onion and cook until tender.
• Add paprika to onion (onion should be heavily coated with paprika - add more paprika than called for if needed).
• In large bowl, combine ground beef, rice, onion mixture, salt & pepper. Mix well.
• One at a time, place about 2-3 tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of a leaf (adjust the amount of meat by the size of the leaf). Starting at the outer part of the leaf, roll the leaf down around the meat, folding in the sides of the leaf as you go. Continue making rolls until you either run out of meat or leaves. (Note: Any remaining meat mixture may be frozen for next time.) Place rolls on a platter and set aside.
• Chop up any damaged leaves and the leftover cabbage heads.
• Place half of the chopped cabbage in the bottom of a large pot (not to exceed about 2 inches in depth).
• Add 1 can of tomato sauce.
• Add 1 can of sauerkraut (including juices).
• Layer cabbage rolls on top of mixture.
• Add 1 can of tomato sauce.
• Add 1 can of sauerkraut.
• Add enough of the cabbage water to cover.
• Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 5-6 hours at a simmer. Make sure you cook at a simmer as a hard boil will damage the rolls.