By Paul Cormier, Salamanders of Kemptville
It must be for the economy of it, because many cultures prepare meat wrapped in something. Today’s recipe features spiced ground meat wrapped in cabbage leaves. You guessed it, it’s Cabbage Rolls. While most Cabbage Roll recipes feature beef, you can also use pork, chicken or turkey, as long as it is ground. Preparation of this great comfort food is simple, so once again we encourage you to enlist the help of your young chefs. This Classic Cabbage Roll recipe will feed a family quite comfortably.
Classic Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 large cabbage, cored and boiled in salted water till the leaves peel off
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1 cup of cooked rice
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- 1 ½ pounds of ground beef
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- Nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 large can or bottle (19 oz) of tomato juice
Preparation
- Peel the cabbage and set the leaves aside
- In a largish pan (that has a lid), fry the onion in the butter
- Add the meat and cooked rice, stir and cook till well mixed
- Stir in the tomato paste and lemon juice
- Add nutmeg, pepper and salt slowly and taste until you are satisfied with the flavour
- Place a spoonful of your meat-rice mixture on a cabbage leaf and roll it up
- Prepare all of your rolls in the same way and pack your rolls tightly in a roasting pan
- When done, sprinkle with the sugar and pour the tomato juice over all
- Place your pan, covered, in a 300F oven for a couple of hours, checking every half hour
Vegetarians, you can skip the meat protein in favour of one that is vegetable based. To serve the rolls, place the roasting pan on a heat pad in the middle of your dining room table and provide a couple of large spoons so folks can help themselves. Some people like their cabbage rolls with dollops of sour cream but we recommend plain, unflavoured 2%style Yoghurt (we use La Liberté). You don’t need much else to make this one of your family’s favourites. In fact, Ayden and I are making up a batch this weekend. All the best from pcormier@ranaprocess.com.
