Stuffed Cabbage
Ingredients
2 medium heads of cabbage
2 onions, chopped
1/2 Ib butter
1 1/2 cups rice
1 Ib ground veal
1 Ib pork
2 Ibs ground beef
8 eggs
2 tbsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup parsley
4 bacon strips; uncooked
3 tbsp beef base (Minor's is good)
2 tbsp granulated garlic salt
Sauce Ingredients
1 big can tomatoes; diced
1 big can tomato soup
1 can meatless spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup sugar
Procedure:
Combine all the sauce ingredients- Fill each can up with water and add. While the sauce is cooking, sauté onions dry. When a little water comes out, add butter. Continue to sauté. Add three tablespoons of beef base. Core cabbage heads. Place in boiling water until tender (about 5 minutes). Remove the heads when soft. Cut out the cabbage membrane, so it is easier to roll. Cook rice. Rinse rice after it is done. Put onions together with rice, parsley and sugar. Mix well. Combine veal, pork and ground beef together with eggs, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Add to rice mixture.
Mix thoroughly.
In a large, ungreased roaster pan, crumble the cabbage cores. Place bacon strips (ham hocks are also okay) on bottom of roaster. Put a little sauce on bottom of pan. One cabbage will serve as liner. Arrange cabbage leaves so that they are hanging over sides of the pan. Take the other cabbage head. Place a cabbage leaf in one hand, a handful of meat in the other. Adjust the amount of meat to the size of leaf. If you are right-handed, put the cabbage in your right palm. Place the meat mixture toward the base of the cabbage leaf. Fold over, bringing both sides to the middle. Pick up the cabbage and roll tightly with your left hand. Turn it over a couple of times to make sure it is tight and stays sturdy. Put in pan. Cover with sauce. Make sure that any excess cabbage leaves are folded over into the middle. Any extra leaves should be placed in the middle of the pan. If you cook in a convection oven or even in a conventional one, these extra leaves will keep all the cabbages moist and tender.
Bake for 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes in a preheated 350° oven. Cabbages are done when they are soft. Poke them a couple of times. Check top to see if meat is done. This recipe serves 10.
Notes:
Always cook immediately. Don't roll up the cabbages, put them in the refrigerator and cook them later. This will cause discoloration.
For variety, you might add Parmesan cheese to the rice mixture.
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