It only seems fitting that the first post of My Kurated Life should be my mom's cabbage rolls. This is comfort food for us. It's warm and hearty on a cold winter night. This recipe is definitely a weekend recipe, as it takes time to prepare. I make the tomato sauce from scratch (recipe to come later), my mom now uses a jar of tomato sauce, so it's up to you.
The hardest part of this recipe is coring the cabbage. After years of struggling, we finally embraced power tools to help with this step (see photo). Make sure to core the cabbage over the sink if you use tools, as it can get quite messy! If you don't have a circular saw, just use a sharp knife and cut in a circular motion to remove the core.
My other tip is to choose a large cabbage (they have the largest leaves for rolling) and use a canner to boil the cabbage whole. I have tried stock pots, but the lid often does not fit and the cabbage doesn't cook enough to pull the leaves off.
Mom's Cabbage Rolls adapted from Vancouver Sun recipe April 1978
Ingredients:
Cabbage Rolls
1 large cabbage
3/4 c long grain rice
3/4 c boiling water
1 tbsp Better than Bouillon (I use vegetable flavour, you can use beef flavour instead)
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1-11/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 c shredded aged old cheddar cheese
11/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
11/2 tsp salt
Tomato Sauce
1/2 can (28oz) tomatoes
1/2 can (14oz) tomato sauce
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
* For the tomato sauce you can use a favourite recipe, follow the one above or like my mom does, use 1 jar store bought sauce.
Method:
Remove core from cabbage. Place in canner and fill with water to completely cover cabbage. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until leaves are pliable. Drain. Separate into 24 leaves carefully, removing centre river of each leaf for easy rolling.
In a saucepan, combine rice, water and bouillon. Boil, cover and simmer 7-10 minutes until all water is absorbed.
Melt butter in a skillet. Saute onion until tender, adding a small pinch of salt.
Combine rice, meat, onion, celery seed, garlic powder, salt, cheese and toss lightly to combine.
Add a smear of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 casserole baking dish.
Spoon 2 tbsp of meat mixture onto each leaf, tuck in leaf ends and roll. Place seam side down into casserole baking dish. Continue until dish is full or no meat mixture is left.
Pour tomato sauce over the rolls to cover.
Bake covered in low oven, 325 degrees for 11/2 hours, basting occasionally. Makes 6-8 servings.
Enjoy!
Krista
P.S. If you do make any of the recipes posted on My Kurated Life, I'd love to see them, please use #mykuratedliferecipe to share! I look forward to your feedback.
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