Main Dishes
Cabbage Rolls
Description
Cabbage Rolls are a comfort food dish that takes the most modest of ingredients—cabbage, ground meat, rice, and tomato sauce—and stretches them to become a nourishing, hearty, and delicious dinner!
Ingredients
- ½ cup uncooked long-grain brown rice rinsed and drained*
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
- 6 cloves garlic minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 medium head green cabbage 1 ½ to 2 pounds—DO NOT use a larger head or the leaves will be difficult to cook through, difficult to roll, and it will be harder to stem
- 1 pound lean ground beef I used 90% lean
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano divided
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg divided
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- ¼ cup chopped parsley divided
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon honey
Directions
- Place one of the oven racks in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Combine the rice and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered on low, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes, until the rice is partially cooked (it will keep baking in the oven). Strain the rice through a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water to remove any excess liquid and starch. Place in a large bowl and set aside. Keep the pot handy (no need to clean it).
- Meanwhile, core the cabbage: Peel off any dirty leaves from the cabbage head. Sit the cabbage on your cutting board so the stem side is facing directly upwards. Using a paring knife, make 4 cuts that are each 1/2-inch away from the core so that the cuts form a square. Make each cut at an angle so that your knife is pointing down towards the core as you slice. Shimmy the knife through each corner of the square shape to help loosen the core. Then, pull on the cabbage stem area to remove the core. You may need to wiggle your paring knife around the square again to help loosen it. Discard the core.
- Simmer the cabbage: Fill a large pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a medium-low heat such that the water simmers. Carefully lower the cabbage (with its core side facing the bottom of the pot and the top of the head facing up) into the pot and cover it. Let simmer for 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon or handheld medium sieve, carefully lift the cabbage out of the water. Let cool until you can handle it safely, 10-15 minutes.
- To the now-empty pot you used to cook the rice, add 2 tablespoons of oil and the onion. Sauté over medium-low heat for 10 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
