Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are a Classic Hungarian dish that almost everyone world-wide recognizes. No wedding celebration would be complete without large pots of these tightly rolled bundles of meat and rice held by soft wrappers of cabbage. The rolls lay in a bed of silky sauerkraut with hints of smoky bacon. The cabbage and sauerkraut combine to a most delicious and mellow dish. Once you sample this dish, you are hooked!
Growing up in a Hungarian household, we all loved Cabbage Rolls in tomato sauce, prepared just like Stuffed Hungarian Peppers. We were able to smother the bread with sour cream and mop up the juices and cabbage pieces. My dad preferred a more smokey bacon flavour. In order to please everyone, mom prepared it both ways. We would always complain that she hadn't made our first choice and only dad was being preferred. So, on one occasion, she came up with a brilliant compromise; she combined both sets of ingredients - partially tomato juice and partially smoked bacon and sauerkraut. We loved it and she continued to prepare it this way since that time. (Aside - the Hungarian Club in our city of Brantford, Ontario purchased mom's cookbook, because they insisted they mom's recipe was out of this world. They book hundreds of events yearly - that should tell you how good this recipe is.)
INGREDIENTS
1 lb each of ground pork, beef & veal (don't compromise on this!)
1 cup long grain rice *(Uncle Ben's Converted Rice)
1 medium to large head green cabbage
1 large onion
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp hot paprika
1 - 28 oz jar Sauerkraut
1 - 28 oz can tomato juice
2 cups water (more if required)
Roux- Rantas
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp bacon fat
Smokey Version
lb piece smoked pork rib, bacon, pork hock or ham bone
Garnish
1 pt sour cream
1 Loaf Hungarian White Crusty Bread
DIRECTIONS:
Stuffing/Filling: Grate and saute onion slightly in a small amount of bacon fat. Add paprika, stir and allow flavours to bloom. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, combine; onions, meat and rice and seasonings. Taste and adjust seasoning. *(Uncle Ben's Converted Rice stays whole and just al dente -lovely. Soak in 1 cup luke warm water and rinse, no need to cook.)
Cabbage Leaves: Core center of cabbage in a cone shape down and into the cabbage so the leaves will pull away easily. Place in a large 6 qt boiling pot of water. Place cabbage (core first) into the water. After a few minutes of steaming, pierce the center of the cabbage head with a long roasting fork and hold immersed in boiling water. As cabbage blanches, the outer leaves will start to peel away. Encourage peeling away each leaf using a large wooden spoon, pushing each leaf down into the boiling water. Keep peeling leaves until all are pulled away from the core. If you are new at this, remove the loosened leaves from the pot and shock in cold water bath. You don't want them going limp and shredding on you while you stuff and roll them.
When steaming is complete, remove all leaves carefully into colander and drain with cold water to stop the cooking process. Then, place all leaves on a cutting board. Sort leaves by placing all equal sized leaves together. Trim off thick, middle vein with a sharp paring knife being careful not to tear the cabbage leaf. Larger leaves can be cut into 2, right down the center cutting away the thick vein to create 2 smaller leaves. The smallest leaves are not used in rolling, but cut into julienne strips to line the pot.
Rolling Technique: Place the cabbage leaf on a cutting board or in your left hand. Take 1 leaf at a time (ruffled edge away from you) and place an ice-cream scoop or 2 tbsp seasoned meat/rice mixture on the center. Roll lengthwise starting at cored flat end way and then fold left leafy side over middle (like a Burrito). Continue rolling and then when completely rolled, tuck right leafy loose end inside with index finger. (Not too much pressure, or you will tear the cabbage and then the stuffing will leak and protrude out during cooking.)
Pot Assembly: If using the Smokey Version, place Pork Hock or rib on bottom of pot now. Then, start by placing reserved cabbage strips at the bottom of large pot along with 1/3 of the sauerkraut and the pieces of thick bacon including rind. Start placing Cabbage Rolls snugly in concentric circles layering the sauerkraut in between each layer. The smokey flavours will filter all the way up through the pot. Continue in this fashion until all leaves are rolled and placed into the pot. Cover with more cabbage pieces and sauerkraut if desired. Pour over the tomato juice and enough water to cover. Simmer about 1 hour on medium heat. Test 1 roll - go ahead - you know you want to! If meat is cooked and rice is al dente, then remove from heat. If not, cook for another 15-30 minutes at the most.
Roux- Rantas: Heat bacon fat and add flour and paprika. Saute slightly then, add water and stir until you get a smooth consistency. You may have to pour off some of the cooking liquid into a small saucepan and cream the thickener from there. Add roux back into cabbage pot. Do not stir rolls; just shake the pot so that the sauce penetrates in between the rolls. Remove from heat. Let rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a large serving dish.
Serving Suggestions: Serve with fresh Hungarian bread and generous servings of sour cream (and some good wine if that is your custom) If I may be so bold, I would go with a full Hungarian wine like Egri Bikavér ("Bull's Blood of Eger") which is Hungary's most famous red wine, but any of the following would go very well; Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Beaujolais Red and of course Shiraz.
Yield: 24-28 Medium Cabbage Rolls.
Note: Delicious the next day as flavours meld. Freezes well for 3-6 months. Mom says that red cabbage is never used for cabbage rolls, otherwise - both are fair game in most other stir-fry type dishes.
Soured Cabbage Version: Try soured cabbage (sold fresh out of the barrel at delis or sealed in a plastic bag at the grocer). Leaves are more pliable, but you should rinse thoroughly before using and taste-test as it may be quite tangy for some palates. Also, omit the 28 oz sauerkraut from the recipe - you can cut up left over cabbage leaves to line the pot. This is a bit more pricey, but faster and very delicious!
For a complete step by step photographed picture version with instructions - visit our YouTube site here. It's not only informative -it's down right entertaining!
http://www.youtube.com/user/HOTHUNGARIANCHEF
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