Yesterday, I posted about building two dinners in half the time. By saving a portion of the ragu base, tonight's dinner will be quick and easy stuffed cabbage. I have to say, this turned out even better than I imagined. I have made stuffed cabbage before, but it wasn't nearly this tasty. I think I might not have put tomato sauce over the top of the cabbage...and that is a must...really adds a ton of flavor.
Here's what I learned:
- I am more of a cabbage burrito maker than an actual neatly folded sort of stuffed cabbage maker. But hey, my stomach didn't know the difference!
- Any extra filling can be crumbled on top
- You can make times and a half the original filling recipe and have the base for ragout, stuffed cabbage and meatballs...you can always freeze portions to use later
- You might need to loosen up the mixture with a tablespoon of water or so, just to get it stirring well
- The exact amount of time the cabbage needs to be immersed can depend on what type of cabbage you use...the key is to make the leaves pliable enough to wrap the burritos...err...stuff the leaves and make neat little packets.
- Surprisingly, the cabbage leaves kept a wonderful firm texture, even after being baked. The contrast of all of the flavors and textures brought me back for seconds!
Here's what you need:
1 head of cabbage
half of the mixture from last night
2 eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup of Panko bread crumbs (you can really use whatever bread crumbs you have on hand)
12 ounces or so of sauce (again, I used tomato sauce I canned this summer, but feel free to use the jar of your choice)
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring a stock pot full of water to a boil, add salt to the water. Cut the cabbage in half without removing the core, insert a large meat fork, and dunk it in the boiling water for 30 seconds or so. Repeat with the other half. Let both halves drain and cool a bit. Place half on cutting board and remove the core with a v-cut at the stem end. Do the same with the remaining half. Remove the individual leaves and stack to the side. Use the very small inner leaves to lay a base in your **baking dish for the cabbage rolls.
In a bowl, combine the ground beef mixture, 1 tablespoon of water (if needed), 2 eggs and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of Panko (or other) bread crumbs. Adjust the bread crumbs to fit the desired texture...should be similar to meatballs or meatloaf. If you are using unseasoned bread crumbs, add salt and pepper to adjust for flavor.
Lay a leaf flat and add a couple of tablespoons of filling. Place seam side down in the dish. Repeat until your dish is full.
Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Serve with a bit of grated Parmesan on top.
**I used a 2 inch deep, 10 inch wide skillet that I cook in all of the time. These could easily be made in pyrex, or other baking dishes. If you want to make quite a lot of them, you can double stack them in a dutch oven, too.
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
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