Shapiros Stuffed Cabbage Recipes

MOM'S CLASSIC STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head in a large pot filled with boiling, salted water. Cover and cook 3 minutes, or until softened enough to pull off individual leaves. If the leaves do not pull off easily, return the cabbage to the pot to boil a minute or two more. When the leaves are cool enough, use a paring knife to cut away the thick center stem from each leaf, without cutting all the way through.
• In a large bowl, add in the ground beef, pork, rice, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, eggs, ketchup, tomato paste, and parsley. Mix gently to combine. Add in 2/3rd of a can of tomato soup (almost 3/4 of a cup) and mix.
• To stuff the leaves lay down a single large leaf with the cut edge facing you (where the stem was) and place about a 1/2 cup of the meat mixture in the lower third of the leave. If the leaf is huge add more, if smaller add less meat. Fold the sides of the leaf over the meat and roll the cabbage up (like rolling a burrito). Repeat until all of the leaves are stuffed. If you have extra meat just roll it up as meatballs and place it in the baking pan with the stuffed cabbage.
• Preheat oven to 350F, rack in the center.
• In a large deep dish (4" at least) baking pan (or two 9×13" glass pans), spread out the remaining soup from the open can on the bottom of the pan. Open up a 2nd can and pour out 1/2 of it and spread out until the bottom of the pan in covered in a light coating.
• Place a single layer of stuffed cabbages on the bottom of your pan. Add the remaining half of the 2nd can of tomato soup. If you have leaves that are too small to stuff or are badly torn, add them on top of the soup.
• Add the 2nd layer of stuffed cabbage (you must make sure you have a 1/2" gap at the top of your pan and stuffed cabbage. It cannot go over the top of the pan. Top with the remaining can of tomato soup and spread out evenly.
• Spray the underneath of a large piece of foil. Place foil side down on the pan and close tightly around the dish. Place the pan on a larger cookie sheet to catch any spillovers.
• Bake for 3 - 4 hours or until the cabbage is tender when pierced with a knife. (I start to check mine after 2 hours 45 minutes).
• Remove from the oven, uncover and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

SHAPIRO'S STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Core cabbage and blanch in a large pot of boiling water until leaves begin to loosen.
• Soak bread in red wine.
• Combine ground chuck, onion, celery and egg; mix in wet bread (bare hands are the best tools for this.
• Add tomato juice, rice, salt and pepper.
• Carefully peel off cabbage leaves and roll each around 1 to 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture, tucking in the sides to hold it together.
• Repeat until all the beef is wrapped. There should be 18 to 20 packets.
• Chop remaining cabbage leaves and reserve 4 cups.
• Prepare sauce: In a large stock pot heat stewed tomatoes, puree, water, brown sugar and lemon juice. Crumble gingersnaps and stir into mixture.
• Stir in raisins and chopped cabbage leaves. (Taste at this point and add more salt and pepper if necessary).
• Carefully add stuffed cabbage packets to sauce.
• Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Check occasionally and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup tomato juice to sauce if it seems to be drying out.

STUFFED WHOLE CABBAGE

Steps:

• Combine sauce ingredients; set aside. Line a medium bowl with cheesecloth, allowing 6 inches to overhang edges of bowl. Place cabbage in bowl with core facing up. Remove core and center of cabbage, leaving a 1-in. shell. Discard core; chop center cabbage leaves. , Heat large skillet over medium heat; add oil. Cook onion and 1 cup chopped cabbage in oil until tender, 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. In a small bowl, combine beef, onion mixture, 1 cup sauce, rice, egg, salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into cabbage shell. Gather cheesecloth around cabbage and twist tightly to securely enclose cabbage leaves and filling. , Place 1 cup water, remaining chopped cabbage and remaining sauce in a Dutch oven; mix well. Carefully add stuffed cabbage, with twisted cheesecloth facing down. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until whole cabbage is tender and a thermometer inserted in the middle of the cabbage reads 165°, 1 to 1-1/4 hours. Remove cabbage and discard cheesecloth. Place cabbage on a serving platter; keep warm. , Combine the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup water; add to Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil until thickened, about 2 minutes. Cut cabbage into wedges; serve with sauce and Parmesan cheese. If desired, sprinkle with fresh thyme and oregano leaves.

STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• For the sauce: In a large bowl, combine the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, red chili flakes (if using), brown sugar, and red wine vinegar. With a microplane, grate the clove of garlic into the sauce and stir well to combine. (Alternatively, you can very finely chop the garlic.)
• For the filling: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut out the core from the base of the cabbage and remove the 1-2 outer leaves. Place the cabbage cut side down into the pot of boiling water. As you see leaves naturally start to separate from the head of cabbage, gently coax the leaf off with a pair of tongs and transfer it to a colander set over a bowl. You will need about 14 cabbage leaves. This process takes about 6-8 minutes. Rinse the leaves with cold water until cool enough to handle. Drain well and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel.
• Place the cabbage leaves on a cutting board and make a V-shaped cut at the bottom of each leaf, to cut out the thickest part of the center rib.
• In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, pork, onion, egg, milk or cream, breadcrumbs, rice, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix gently to combine.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole dish. Ladle 1 cup of sauce into the dish and spread all over. Starting with the largest, outer cabbage leaves, lay each cabbage leaf flat. Take about 1/3 cup of filling and roughly shape it into an oval shape, about 4-inches long. (For some of the larger leaves, use up to ½ cup of filling.) Place the oval in the center a cabbage leaf, just above where the rib was cut. Fold the sides of the cabbage leaf over the filling and roll up into a little bundle (start rolling at the cut side, over into the uncut side). Place seam side down over top of the sauce in the baking dish. Repeat until each cabbage leaf is used. Drizzle the remainder of the sauce all over.
• Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the meat is cooked through. Serve with a side of mashed potatoes, if you like.

SCALLOPED POTATOES, CABBAGE, AND SMOKED SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a saucepan or in the microwave, melt the margarine. Add the salt, pepper, and flour. Stir until smooth, then gradually add the milk with a wire whisk. The mixture doesn't have to get thick, it does that as it cooks in the oven, you're just mixing it all together uniformly at this point.
• Add a layer of sliced potatoes to a thinly greased 13X9 pan. You can use the wrapper on the margarine or butter to lightly grease the pan if you like. It doesn't need much.
• Then add 1/2 of the cabbage as the next layer, sprinkle with 1/2 of the onions, and then add 1/2 of the smoked sausage or kielbasa.
• Then layer it all again, starting with potatoes, then cabbage, then onions, then smoked sausage, and top it all off with the remaining potatoes.
• Sprinkle the cheese on top. Stir up the sauce and pour it over the top of all uniformly.
• Cover your pan with aluminum foil tightly and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour, until potatoes are tender. Then remove the foil and bake another 15 minutes at 400 to brown the top slightly or place under the broiler until lightly browned.

BRAISED STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Remove the tough central stalk from the cabbage leaves. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the cabbage, then cook for just 1-2 mins until the leaves are starting to wilt. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Drain well, then pat dry with a tea towel.
• Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion, then fry for 5 mins until slightly browned. Add the rosemary and celery, then cook for 8 mins more. Stir in the rice, then cook for a min or so until the grains are glistening. Remove from the heat, stir in the chestnuts and cranberries, then season.
• Spoon a little stuffing onto a cabbage leaf, roll up and fold in the sides to enclose the filling. Put in a single layer in a large, oiled, shallow ovenproof dish with the join underneath. Fill the remaining leaves in the same way. Mix the stock, vinegar and honey, then pour over the cabbage. Cover the dish tightly with foil, bake for 1 hr, uncover, then cook for a further 15 mins.