These are surprisingly good. It’s like a delicious mini meatloaf wrapped in a cabbage blanket. This is adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence from the Food Network. You won’t need the whole head of cabbage for this, just the large outer leaves. There were 10 large leaves on the cabbage I used.
Ingredients:
For the sauce –
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, grated
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
½ Tablespoon sugar
salt & pepper
For the filling –
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
8 oz Baby Bella mushrooms, chopped
1 Tablespoon dried basil
salt & pepper
1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1 head cabbage
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare the sauce by heating the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and sugar. Cook for another 5 minutes to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare the filling by heating the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Add ½ cup of the sauce to the onions and mushrooms.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef and egg. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the onion and mushroom mixture.
Prepare the cabbage leaves by carefully removing them from the head of cabbage. Lay the damaged outer leaves in the bottom of a 9×13 inch casserole dish. Place the rest of the large leaves in a pan of boiling water for 20-30 seconds to soften them. They will need to be soft for rolling.
Distribute the filling evenly among the softened cabbage leaves. Roll them up, tucking in the sides, and lay them seam side down in the casserole dish.
Top with the remaining sauce. Bake for 1 hour.
