We start this week with one of my husband’s favorite dishes, the best stuffed cabbage rolls recipe, with tomatoes, thyme and dill. It’s a summer meal, which I made starting to cook with the first harvest of cabbage. In this period we were also doing the stuffed collard greens with spinach.
For this recipe, I use cabbage leaves, from early cabbage varieties, not from autumn ones. There are those greens that have a deep green color, not those of light colors.
Ingredients Used in Best Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe
I used in this recipe a medium-sized cabbage, from which I could detach about 12 leaves to fill.
For the filling I used about 750 g minced pork. You can also use minced meat mixture, two parts pork and one part minced beef.
We also need a large onion and a cup of rice, which I washed previously.
And let’s not forget the tomatoes! I used two canned chopped tomatoes.
Well, let’s get to work!
At the beginning, we prepare the filling. For this, we clean and chop the onion.
In a small saucepan or pan, heat two tablespoons of oil and put the chopped onion to fry.
I seasoned with salt, freshly ground pepper and a tablespoon of sweet paprika powder.
Pull the pan aside to cool slightly, during which time we can wash the rice in a sieve, under a stream of cold water.
After the rice is well drained, we put it over the minced meat.
Season with a teaspoon of sea salt, a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper and a tablespoon of sweet paprika powder.
After that I put the fried onion on top, without the frying oil.
I put another teaspoon of chopped dill, then mixed everything by hand, until I obtained a homogeneous paste.
Leave the filling aside, and start with the cabbage.
Preparing and Stuffing the Cabbage Leaves
In a larger pot, I put the water to a boil, with a spoonful of salt.
When the water is boiling, put the cabbage leaves in the water, and boil them for about 10 minutes.
I boiled the leaves in two turns, because they did not fit all at once.
Remove the leaves from the water, and put them in a large strainer, drain the water and cool it a little.
After they have cooled down enough to get hold of, we start filling the cabbage leaves.
You will see that after you have boiled the cabbage leaves a little, they can be filled and rolled much easier because they are soft and delicate.
First we cut the thick part of the leaf tail, to make it easier to roll.
On a cabbage leaf put a spoon of filling and roll it.
I roll the whole leaf, but you can if you want to get smaller rolls, cut the leaf in half and fill half the leaf.
Continue until you fill all the leaves.
Because I have some filling left, I’ll make some meat balls.
Setting in the pot
For this dish, I used a soup pot, on the bottom of which I placed some branches of thyme.
Over this, I sprinkled a handful of strips of cabbage, from the small unused leaves, which we cut in the strips, and the leaves tails.
We pour the first canned tomatoes over these strips of cabbage.
After that, we are going to place the stuffed cabbage rolls next to each other.
Over the cabbage rolls, I put again a little thyme.
Next is the second can of chopped tomatoes.
From the remaining filling, we make some meatballs and place them in the pot, next to stuffed cabbage rolls.
Pour the water into the pot, to cover all the stuffed cabbage well.
I seasoned with 2 teaspoons of salt, a tablespoon of dried vegetable, a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of chopped dill. Let boiling everything!
Now I have used one of the techniques learned from my mother, namely placing a plate over the rolls. This has the role of keeping the rollers pressed and fixed, not to break during boiling.
You can use instead of a plate, a smaller lid.
Finishing and Serving
Boil everything for about an hour, over medium heat, until the cabbage and rice is boiled.
I carefully transferred the stuffed cabbage rolls into a glass bowl that I placed in the middle of the table.
Everything looks very appetizing!
It is served hot and with a little sour cream or Greek yogurt on top.
There are people, like my husband, who put a little more sugar on top.
You also try different variants. How do you like it?
Best Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 piece cabbage medium size
- 1 piece onion large size
- 750 g pork mince
- 2 pieces canned chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup rice
- 3 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground pepper
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika powder
- 1 tbsp dried vegetable mix
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 bunch thyme
- 2 tbsp chopped dill
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
Instructions
- In a small saucepan or pan, heat two tablespoons of oil and put the chopped onion to fry. Seasoned with salt, freshly ground pepper and a tablespoon of sweet paprika powder.
- Pull the pan aside to cool slightly, during which time we can wash the rice in a sieve, under a stream of cold water. After the rice is well-drained, we put it over the minced meat. Season with a teaspoon of sea salt, a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper and a tablespoon of sweet paprika powder. Put the fried onion on top, without the frying oil, and another teaspoon of chopped dill, then mixed everything by hand, until I obtained a homogeneous paste.
- In a larger pot, I put the water to a boil, with a spoonful of salt. When the water is boiling, put the cabbage leaves in the water, and boil them for about 10 minutes. Remove the leaves from the water, and put them in a large strainer, drain the water and cool it a little.
- On a cabbage leaf put a spoon of filling and roll it. Continue until you fill all the leaves.
- For this dish, I used a soup pot, on the bottom of which I placed some branches of thyme. Over this, I sprinkled a handful of strips of cabbage, from the small unused leaves, which we cut in the strips and the leaves tails. We pour the first canned tomatoes over these strips of cabbage. After that, we are going to place the stuffed cabbage rolls next to each other. Over the cabbage rolls, I put again a little thyme and the second can of chopped tomatoes. From the remaining filling, we make some meatballs and place them in the pot, next to stuffed cabbage rolls.
- Pour the water into the pot, to cover all the stuffed cabbage well. I seasoned with a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of chopped dill and boiled everything. Boil everything for about an hour, over medium heat, until the cabbage and rice are boiled.
Best Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe
Looks good 😁
Omg stop it right now, you are making me hungry! I love stuffed cabbage! Your recipe looks yummy and I am going to give it a try this week, thanks for sharing by the way. Your recipe is very similar to my dad’s stuffed cabbage (it’s an asian style). What we do we prep the minced pork or any kind of meat the same way but ours is just steamed to cook and then strain it and you dip it with a very good sauce like ginger sauce for example and have it with rice or you can eat it… Read more »
Thanks for the ideas, I would like to try other options.
Food like this covered with vegetables is very famous in Egypt and Lebanon where I was for a while. The food with green leaves is especially delicious and nutritious. There is some food especially this one here is specially prepare due to choice ingredients which are not common all year round. A special dish that needs choice cabbage of a certain season and meticulous preparation is rather tedious, must have been a labor of life. I remember the food I have eaten in Oman where Arabic food looked like more of this type. They are quite exotic and dainty in… Read more »
My mouth is already salivating for this delicious meal. This is a long yet amazing recipes. Stuffed cabbage roll is a tongue bitting food when prepared by an expert. I haven’t try cooking it on my own before because of time. I will find time to make it this coming weekend and see how it looks like compare to one I do get from restaurant. This step by step guides are easy to follow and am sure it will be able to guide me through the preparation.
Thanks, Stella, I recommend you try the dishes, I’m sure it will be delicious.
Some good stuff. I’ve never been a big fan of eating cabbage by itself, but I love eating it when it’s part of a recipe, if that makes sense? I’m going to give this a try and see how I like it. Looks good though. Thanks for writing this recipe up
Thanks, Nate!
My mother is of Hungarian descent and her grandmother taught her how to make stuffed cabbage rolls and it has always been a favorite of mine. Even though it takes a bit of time, I think it is totally worth it and the flavors that develop are amazing. Thanks for sharing this recipe as it looks like it is a nice spin on what I am used to. I’d love to give it a try and compare the two recipes!
Yes, Steve, I invite you to try the recipe.
This is a really nice recipe you have given here. I have only started a vegan diet some days back and its going really cool with me because im already feeling some of the changes in my body system bit by bit and that why i am in search for more meals to add to my diet. I don’t really have an serious guide book to my diet yet, although i wish to get one soon, would you suggest I take this meal you have given here?
An alternative would be to replace the meat with mushrooms.