Recipe: Stuffed Cabbage

Stuffed Cabbage was a meal from both ..Warren and my childhood… we both can remember our Mother’s making it… and oddly enough … even with all the recipe variations out there.. our Mother’s made it virtually the same way.

My Mother made it with a little Hungarian touch.. after all.. we had to add paprika and garlic in the meat mix.. but other than that… it was just about the same…. just delicious!

TIPS

When getting the leaves off the head of cabbage… make a slit at the bottom of the leave where it connects.. then using your fingers loosen it from the base to the top…

If the leaves tear.. don’t get upset.. just roll it up as best as you can and secure it with tooth picks.. it will cook up just fine.

I used condensed tomato soup since that’s what our mothers used. If you prefer a more Italian twist to this.. you could substitute tomato sauce.

I’ve read reviews on other sites for similar recipes and some complained that it was bland.. well folks… that’s the recipe… it isn’t all hot and spicy.. at least not traditionally.. you certainly can make it that way… but traditionally it is very similar to stuffed peppers.

My recipe uses both Hungarian Hot and Sweet Paprika.. it really does add flavor and I recommend you try using it.. they are both easily found in the spice section of the grocery store.

I bake my Stuffed Cabbage… my mother did it on the stove, but you run the risk of charring the bottom layer… baking it in the oven works like a charm.

I chop the onion and garlic cloves together in the mini chopper… it chops them really fine and mixes them nicely.

Serve these with mashed potatoes or noodles.






Recipe: Stuffed Cabbage

All you need:

8 cabbage leaves
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1 egg, beaten
½ medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
½ teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Sprinkling of salt and pepper
2 cans condensed tomato soup

All you need to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread about ½ a can of the condensed soup over the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish. Set them aside.

Place the cabbage leaves in gently boiling water for about 5-7 minutes.

Remove with tongs and drain in a colander.. run cold water over them .. then dry them with paper towel.

In a medium bowl combine the meat, rice, egg, onion, garlic, parsley, paprikas, salt and pepper.

Add 3 tablespoons of the tomato soup to the mix. Combine well.

Lay the cabbage leaves out and divide the mixture evenly among the leaves.

Fold the sides in over the filling and roll them up starting at the end with the large vein. Secure with toothpicks. Place the cabbage rolls in the prepared baking dish.



Cover with the remaining condensed soup from the opened can and the second can.

Cover the baking dish with foil (non-stick works best… non-stick side down.

Place the baking dish on the foil lined baking sheet (to catch any overflow).

Bake at 350 degrees F for 2 ½ hours.