The Garden & Saucier
Grammy’s Cabbage Rolls
The Strategy:
Boiling cabbage leaves briefly makes them soft and pliable enough to roll around a savory beef and rice filling. Adding sweet raisins and fresh parsley to the sirloin mixture creates a beautiful balance of flavors inside each roll. Simmering them slowly in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce infused with grape juice and vinegar makes for a tender, comforting meal.
Ingredients
- 1 large head cabbage, cored
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped, about 1 ½ cups
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced, about 1 teaspoon
- 1 pound ground sirloin
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 1 (14.5-ounce can) crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup white grape juice
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Drop the cabbage into the hot water and cook until the leaves begin to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the cabbage to your work surface and remove the top leaves, about 16. Use a sharp knife to trim the thick vein so that it is even with the rest of the leaf. Do not remove the vein, you want a flat surface.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ground sirloin and cook until brown and crumbly.
- Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Stir in the cooked rice, raisins and parsley.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Place one leaf onto your work surface.
- Spoon about ¼ cup of the sirloin-rice filling into the center of the leaf.
- Fold the edges up and over the filling and roll up to small cylinders.
- Place into the bottom of a slow cooker. Continue with the remaining rolls.
- Stir together the tomatoes, grape juice and vinegar.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the sauce over the rolls.
- Cook on the high setting for 2 hours (or the low setting for 6 to 8 hours) and keep warm until ready to serve.
After Market Leftovers
Since you are only using the top leaves for this dish, you’ll have some extra cabbage left over. To use up those leaves, here are a couple of my favorite cabbage dishes. My dad’s all-time favorite dish was slowly braised pork (usually spareribs) served with mashed potatoes that are topped with sauerkraut. Sure, you can open a bag or jar of sauerkraut and add it to the pan, but my favorite way to serve sauerkraut is to add sautéed onions and cabbage to the mix. Simply cook thin slices of onion and cabbage in olive oil until soft. Add these to prepared sauerkraut and place this mix into the bottom of a roasting pan. Place the spare ribs on top and cook in a low and slow oven. You can add a cup of beer to the pan for an extra little bit of yumm! Buttered cabbage is a Southern side that goes perfectly with fried chicken. Cut the cabbage into thin slices. Cook in butter and toss with some bacon and black pepper before serving. I actually ate Colcannon when we visited Ireland. It was served with some perfectly poached salmon and was memorable! Colcannon is a mix of potatoes and cabbage. To prepare the dish, stir sautéed cabbage into whipped potatoes. Add in some bacon and fresh parsley. It’s pretty darn good!
The full recipe lives in the Vault
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The Heart of the Table
These cabbage rolls carry the heartwarming nostalgia of family heritage and kitchen traditions passed down through generations. Serving them in a slow cooker keeps them warm and ready, filling the home with a rich, savory-sweet aroma that draws everyone close to the table.
- a pair of professional-grade stainless steel locking kitchen tongs
- a flexible stainless steel slotted turner with a walnut handle
- a fine-blade microplane zester with an ergonomic soft-grip handle
- a teardrop weighted stainless steel bar spoon with a twisted stem
- a flexible high-carbon stainless steel fish spatula with a walnut handle
Neighborly Grace
- THE PRESENTATION: Present the rolls on a deep platter, ladling the rich, reddish tomato sauce over them and finishing with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.
- THE POUR: A medium-bodied red blend or a chilled grape juice mixed with a splash of apple cider vinegar.
- THE VIBE: Evening Dining Room. The room is cozy and warm, filled with the comforting scent of slow-cooked beef and sweet cabbage as stories are shared around the table.
