Ooh! Stuffed Cabbage
I am fairly new to stuffed cabbage, but I am intrigued. When something is stuffed and baked in a sauce it means there is a great opportunity to create something new. Not only can the stuffing be fooled with, but the sauce is also a place to play. I see the potential to take this dish to a variety of different places and, in the end, create some big WOW moments!
The basic stuffed cabbage is easy. Imagine something akin to meatloaf mixture wrapped in boiled cabbage leaves then, using the term loosely, braised in a sauce. The sauce not only brings flavours to the dish, but also thickens and adds richness. Along the way, the cabbage is softened more and the flavours come together to a huge WOW moment.
Here is a basic recipe for Stuffed Cabbage to start with…
- 1 medium sized head of cabbage, cored and leaves separated.
- 1 TBSP butter
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- ½ pound white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 TBSP of your favorite smoked paprika
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 cup white rice, cooked
- 32 oz can of crushed tomato or tomato juice
- Salt and pepper
- Parmesan Cheese
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a few cabbage leave to boiling water and boil until tender about 3 minutes. Set aside to drain. Continue until all the leaves are boiled. The very thick centre of the cabbage leaves or the root end of the leaves can be removed or trimmed but it is not necessary.
- In a sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until softened. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent.
- Add the mushrooms and sauté until they just start to release their water. Add the paprika and cook 2-3 minutes mixing well. Remove from heat and let cool.
- When the onion mixture is cool, add ground beef and rice. Season with salt and pepper.
- Scoop out ¼-⅓ cup of the meat mixture and form into a cylinder. Repeat until all the meat is formed.
- Individually wrap the meat in a leaf of cabbage like you would the filling in a burrito
- Set the cabbage pouch seem side down in a baking dish.
- Pour the can of tomato or tomato juice to cover the cabbage rolls.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. With 10 minutes remaining, top with cheese and cook until golden brown.
Re-invention – A Staple of Innovation!
What if we were to go the chicken route and take a totally different path. We could take a page from something modern like honey mustard and bring in a creamy sauce.
| Replace the beef with ground chicken. | Remove the paprika. | To the meat mixture add ½ cup mustard and ¼ cup honey | Replace tomato sauce with 2 cups cream and 2 cups chicken stock | The mushrooms could be moved from the meat mix to the topping |
We could also do a fusion with stuffed cabbage. I have said this before, fusion cuisine is the greatest innovation in the culinary arts. Why not apply it here – say with a spanish twist!
| Remove the paprika and bind meat with adobo marinade or purchased adobo seasoning | Wrap the meatballs in Serrano Ham then wrap in cabbage | Use tomato juice and salsa brava to cover | Top with manchego or a fresh white cheese. | Serve with sour cream |
Just by replacing the beef in the recipe with ground chicken we can take the basic recipe somewhere totally new. If we use quinoa or bulger instead of rice we will get a new taste and texture, too. The addition of carrot and celery or even sweet potato could really be interesting twists. If we stuffed with cabbage with chopped, smoked brisket or other braised beef and used barbecue sauce instead of tomato we can go in another interesting direction. Getting it saucy on the inside would be a great goal, so any time we bind the meat mixture with a sauce before cooking – ketchup, honey, BBQ sauce, or molasses – great things will happen.
The list goes on and on with stuffed cabbage!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
How would you make these Stuffed Cabbage recipes your own? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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