My Favorite Cabbage Rolls

Allow three hours to make this fantastically good, penny-pinching dish. Your time is precious, but the results are worth it. I find Cabbage Rolls taste even better reheated on the second day. Wrapped in individual portion sizes, these freeze well. If you love these rolls, you'll also enjoy Grandma's Cabbage Rolls and the outstanding Cabbage Casserole with Pork.

My Favorite Cabbage Rolls:

1 large head of cabbage

2 c. (500 mL) uncooked long-grain white rice (see Note)

½ c. (125 mL) butter or margarine, divided

1 lb. (454 g) ground pork

1 medium onion, chopped finely

Salt and pepper, to taste

Two 14-oz. (398 mL each) cans tomato sauce or pasta sauce

Dairy sour cream, as required

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F. Using long, thin knife, core center of cabbage. Place cabbage on circular rack in deep saucepan. Add water just to cover rack. Cover pot, steaming cabbage about 10 min. on medium-high heat. Removing cabbage from pot, slice away softened outer leaves before returning cabbage to pot. Top up water, repeating process until all leaves are soft and pliable.

Pat leaves dry with paper towel. While leaves are still warm, shave thick spines with paring knife, making them more flexible and easier to roll without breaking. Set aside; do not refrigerate.   

Prepare and cook rice (see Index for How to Cook Rice). While rice cooks, melt 2 tbsp. 30 mL) butter or margarine over medium-low heat in large skillet. Break up ground pork, frying over medium-high heat with chopped onion. Stir cooked rice into meat and onion mixture. Add remaining butter or margarine, combining well. Season to taste. Briefly set aside. 

Spoon about a third of sauce into 13x9-in. (33x23 cm) casserole, spreading evenly over bottom. Using your best large leaves, spoon rice mixture into each until 1/3-to-1/2 full. Fold in the sides the leaf; rolling to hold rice mixture like a packet (Tip: Do this in a cereal bowl. You’ll have less mess and will waste less). Place rolls bottom-side down in casserole dish. Cabbage rolls should be snug and close together. 

Pour sauce evenly over rolls. Cover tightly with foil and bake 1-½ hr. Makes 8-to-10 large Cabbage Rolls. (In the photos below, I’ve made smaller rolls by cutting each large leaf in half. These are great for kids!)

Serve hot, with sour cream or Greek-style yogurt. I like to serve these with commercially made perogies - boiled, drained, and lightly fried in butter or margarine with a little chopped onion and chives.

Note: Use leftover rice mixture in Shrimp-Fried Rice. You’ll find this recipe Indexed under Chinese.

A large head ... of cabbage!

Remove core of cabbage.

Plunge cabbage into boiling water to soften leaves.

Sniff and sob your way through chopping onions or ...

Look like an idiot and be smart about it.

Of course, some people always go too far!

Prepare to cook rice.

Add onion to ground pork.

Fry in a little butter on medium high.

Add cooked rice to pork mixture when no pink remains.

Remove softened cabbage from boiling water; drain. 

Trim tough veins from cabbage leaves.

Separate leaves from cabbage.

Fill and roll.

Tuck in the edges.

Place the most tender leaves under the rolls.

Place Cabbage Rolls snugly against one another.

Nap with tomato sauce, cover, and bake.