Mains - Beef
Stuffed Cabbage

​M=Meat | P=Parve (no meat, no dairy) | D=Dairy | VEG=Vegetarian | V=Vegan | GF=Gluten Free​
​Stuffed Cabbage | M | 
Makes 4 to 8 servings, depending on the rest of the menu and your family's appetite

This is my favorite Stuffed Cabbage recipe. It’s from the beautiful coffee table book, Eating Delancey, a love letter to the lower East Side by my friends Aaron Rezny and Jordan Schaps.
But first, avoid the work of boiling the cabbage by tying a whole large head in a plastic bag and tossing it in the freezer for at least several days to make sure it’s frozen all the way through. The night before cooking day, defrost it, still in the bag. The leaves will be pliable enough to roll without tearing.
The recipe calls for ginger snaps, which are hard to find pareve (without dairy). To achieve the same flavor, dissolve 1 TBSP molasses, 1 tsp powdered cloves, and 1 TBSP powered ginger in a ¼ cup boiling water.
For a vegetarian version, make a rice filling with diced cooked carrots, cabbage, onion, celery plus the eggs and breadcrumbs.
​Ingredients
4-5 LB head of cabbage, previously frozen & defrosted
 
For the Meat Filling
2 lbs ground beef (or ground chicken or turkey or a combination)
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 C rice, parboiled for 3 minutes or pre-cooked
1 C breadcrumbs
1 small onion, grated
Salt & pepper

For the Sauce
1 medium onion, minced
2 TBSP oil
28 oz can imported Italian tomato puree
1/3 C raisins
1/3 to 1/2 C brown sugar
Freshly squeezed juice from 2 lemons
Salt
6 ginger snaps soaked in ½ C water 
​Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
 
Prepare Cabbage
1. When cabbage is thoroughly defrosted, cut out the core from the bottom.
2. Carefully peel leaves away, starting with the outermost leaves.
3. On the largest leaves, carefully slice off the back of the large rib, without cutting all the way through, to make the leaf flat.
4. Continue preparing the leaves until you get to the inside where they are too small. Set the rest of the cabbage aside.
 
Make the Rolls
5. In a large bowl, mix the filling ingredients together.
6. Use ¼ to 1/3 C filling per leaf. Place at the bottom of the leaf and roll, tucking the sides in. Don’t roll too tightly; par-boiled rice will expand a little during cooking.
7. Lay the rolls, seam side down, on a parchment lined baking pan.
8. When the filling is gone, chop up any remaining leaves and cabbage. Place in the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold all the rolls.
9. Carefully move the rolls to the baking dish.
 
Sauce
10. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; sauté onion until translucent.
11. Add tomato, raisins, brown sugar, lemon juice, salt, & ginger snaps.
12. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. If it’s too sweet, add more lemon juice; too sour, add more sugar.
 
Assemble
13. Pour the sauce over the cabbage. Shake the pan to make sure sauce gets to the bottom. Cover with foil.
14. Bake at 325 degrees for about 2 hours. Serve hot.
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