Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce
 
 
Author:
Ingredients
For the sour cabbage:
  • Rinse the entire cabbage first in cold water.
  • Peel each leaf carefully and set them aside.
  • Don't worry if some of the leaves are torn because you will use them to line the dish.
For the filling:
  • 1 cup brown rice, cooked
  • 1 medium onion, diced small
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ½ pound lean ground beef
  • ½ pound ground pork
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
For the rolls:
  • For the Topping
  • 2 tablespoons softened butter
  • 1 can diced tomatoes {15 ounces}
For the sauce:
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 clove garlic
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
For the rolls:
  1. In a saucepan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and add in the diced onion and garlic.
  2. Saute the onion and garlic until they’re softened.
  3. Remove the pan from heat and set aside the onion mixture to cool.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, ground beef, ground pork, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, dried herbs, and the onion mixture.
  5. Portion and roll the mixture into 8 equal-sized, oblong meatballs.
  6. Place each meatball in the center of a cabbage leaf, wrapping the leaf around it like a parcel.
  7. Line a 9″ x 13″ dish with the cabbage leaves that you did not use, ensuring that the entire surface and sides of the pan are covered with cabbage leaves. (This will prevent your rolls from sticking to the dish and burning.)
  8. Place your cabbage rolls, seam side down, to make sure they don’t open up while baking and pour on the diced tomatoes.
  9. Finally, use the left over cabbage leaves to cover the top of the rolls to protect them from burning during baking. Again, make sure the entire surface is covered.
  10. Bake the rolls for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
For the sauce:
  1. Add the coarsely chopped white onion to a food processor along with ¼ cup of water.
  2. Puree the mixture until the sauce is completely smooth.
  3. In a large sauce pan, heat ¼ cup of butter and add the pureed onion mixture.
  4. Cook the mixture on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
  6. Whisk in the flour and make a roux.
  7. The mixture will get a bit gooey, but just keep whisking.
  8. After a minute or so, add in the tomato sauce, whisking vigorously to remove any remaining lumps.
  9. Add the chicken stock, cream, salt, and pepper.
  10. Continue to cook the mixture for 3-4 minutes until it starts to bubble and thicken.
  11. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.
To serve:
  1. Discard the burnt cabbage leaves
  2. You can either spread some sauce on a plate and top it with cabbage rolls or you can add the cabbage rolls on a plate first and smother them with the sauce.
Recipe by sprinkles and sauce at https://sprinklesandsauce.com/cabbage-rolls/