Keep Calm And Have a Biscotti!: Middle Eastern-Ukranian Fusion: Cabbage Rolls: I remember my grandfather making holubtsi (a.k.a. cabbage rolls) on special occasions. My grandfather came from the Ukraine and would make pyrohy(perogies) and nalysnyky (delicate little crepes filled with hot cottage cheese, cream and dill filling. I decided to embrace my Ukrainian heritage by making these cabbage rolls, but added a little bit of Middle Eastern spice to them.
Sour Cabbage Rolls (Holubtsi)
This recipe makes a LOT - but they freeze well, so you may want to do a smaller batch or separate this batch into 3 or 4 and freeze them for extra meals.
Rolls:
- 1 whole head SOUR cabbage/ or regular cabbage boiled,whatever you prefer (about 3 pounds)
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 cup raw brown/white rice, cooked and cooled
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon corriander
- 1 teaspoon hot chili peppers
- 1 800ml can crushed or pureed tomatoes
- 1/3 cup strongish beef broth
- 1 can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
Remove cabbage from wrapping (in the sink, it will be very wet) and carefully peel each leaf away from the head. Cut the thick center stem from each leaf, separating the larger leaves into two pieces. The smaller leaves can be left whole but, depending on the thickness of the center rib, you may want to pare it down.
In a large steel bowl combine meat, rice, egg, , chopped onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, cumin,coriander, and hot chilli peppers.
Dampen your hands, take a small portion (3 Tbsp) of meat mixture and roll it in your damp hands to make an oblong/oval shape. place at one edge of a cabbage leaf piece and roll the leaf around it, tucking the open ends in toward the center.
Place each roll seam side down in a large roasting pan or lasagne pan. (If you are left with extra leaves, you can line the bottom of the pan with them and put the rolls on top, or stuff them down the sides of the pan.)
Mix sauce ingredients and pour over cabbage rolls. The sauce should almost come up to the tops of the rolls without totally covering them. If there is not enough sauce to reach this level, add water until the appropriate level is reached.
Bake, loosely covered with foil, in a 350 Fahrenheit oven for 1 to 1.5 hours, depending on the size of the dish. If you're unsure as to the appropriate length of time, my mother's rule is to assume they are done when the sauce has been bubbling well for 30 minutes. If the sauce looks like it's getting so low it might burn, add a little more water, just enough to avoid burning. When they come out, the sauce volume should be drastically reduced.
Serve with a little of the sauce in each dish.
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