Stuffed Cabbage Saturday!

My mom and I had the fantastic idea to start a monthly cooking series with my aunts. In honor of my Grandma Olga, we decided the January class would be learning how to make my her stuffed cabbage rolls. There are many different ways to make stuffed cabbage, but we are Slovak, so you get a pretty standard tomato based version of ground meat deliciousness.

BTW: Do you like my mom’s new apron? Thanks POM!

Mama LaVecchia’s Version on Grandma Olga’s Recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (makes approx. 30 rolls):

Ingredients:

• 1 large head of green cabbage
• 1/2 pound of ground beef
• 1/4 pound of ground veal
• 1/4 pound of ground pork
• 1 large onion  (diced)
• ¼ bottle of A1 Steak Sauce (added from the original by my mom)
• salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
• 2 large cans of tomato puree
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes

Method:

Bring a large stock pot of water to boil.  Core the head of cabbage, keeping it whole – do not remove the stem completely.

Drop cabbage into water and boil.  As the leaves of cabbage cook and work away from head, remove the leaves from boiling water and place in a pan to drain and cool.  Make sure the leaves are cooked enough to be able to support rolling, but not overcooked where they are falling apart completely.

When cabbage leaves are cool, devein leaves and lay out for easy rolling. Any small or broken leaves can be chopped and used in between layers of cabbage rolls.

While the cabbage is cooking, combine the three types of ground meats into a mixing bowl. Add the onion and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix well with hands and add A1 sauce. Continue to combine but make sure to not overwork the meat.

Cover the bottom of a pot or baking dish with a light layer of tomato puree and scatter chopped cabbage as base.  Season with salt and pepper.

To make your rolls, take a cabbage leaf and lay it flat. Place a handful of meat mix at the bottom of a leaf and begin to roll tightly from the bottom up. Roll the meat once, then fold the sides in, and then finish the roll.

Place completed rolls in rows to cover cooking surface.

With each full row, salt and pepper and add diced tomatoes and chopped cabbage. Continue creating layers of rolls using up meat mixture and cabbage leaves.  Once finished rolling, cover the top with additional chopped cabbage, salt, pepper, remaining tomato puree and diced tomatoes. Cover the baking dish with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 to 2 hours, or cook on stove top for two hours simmering slowly.  Make sure to leave room at the top to prevent spillovers during cooking.

Serve hot with mashed potatoes and vegetables and good rye bread.

You can tell that we ate VERY WELL on Saturday night!  It was a blast to spend the afternoon with my family creating such a great meal. As for February’s Lesson: pierogies, made from scratch!

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO: Poise in Parma’s first ever giveaway!!!