2 cups tomato sauce or half tomato sauce and half diced tomatoes
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar
garlic minced, if desired
parsley minced if desired
Directions
Wilt cabbage leaves in boiling water. Combine meat, onion,garlic, rice and 1/2 salt and pepper. Form into 8 portions. Place each on a cabbage leaf, roll securely and fasten with toothpicks. Place in skillet or casserole. Add sauce. Sauce = tomato sauce, vinegar and brown sugar. Remaining salt and pepper. You can also add parsley and garlic. Cover and simmer 1 hour or bake 350 degrees 1 hour. This may not be enough to thoroughly cook the cabbage leaves - they should be really well-cooked. Variations: 1. add garlic or other herbs to meat mix.. 2. add 1/2 cup sour cream to tomato sauce. 3. use part ground pork, ham, lamb, or veal. 4. add 1/2 cup cottage cheese to meat mix.
An alternative which works very, very well and is easier: Take partially cooked cabbage and chop it fine - not so thick as a coleslaw and line the bottom of the casserole. I used leftover cabbage from corned beef and cabbage, so it was already cooked. It worked great. I would suggest at least partially cooking the cabbage and you can put a moderate amount in - a thick layer. This would probably work ok with raw cabbage, but it will take longer to cook.
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