I loved these when my Mom made them. It was always a lot of work and even I was taking part in the preparation as a child. I loved to spun the fine thread around- a lot more than was actually needed.
After cooking it took a while to unwrap all the threads.
This is autumn food, when the cabbage heads were the biggest and this was made with having leftovers in mind. They freeze very well and you can enjoy more of them at a later day.
That is the best way to prepare them in a big batch. It is no food for a single household.
I have freezer capacity and I´ve got the idea of preparing them for my own, when I ate lunch at the office cafeteria. The proprietor served polish cabbage rolls with rice as a side. Each and every country here in Europe have their own method and ingredients.
I love the Balkan version with a head of Sauerkraut, that is made into Sarma.
This is not a midweek meal, you have to work about 3 hours to get it done- well, you will need about an hour cooking time and during that time you can prepare the side dish. It is best done on a slow Sunday morning and a helping hand in the kitchen would make your life a little easier. But you can do it on your own without any problems.
recipe for 10 Cabbage Rolls:
3 kg head of white cabbage
4 spring onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 dinner roll
200 ml milk
500 g minced pork and beef mix
2 eggs
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried lovage
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 tsp pork roast seasoning
salt
pepper
oil
100 g smoked bacon
1 tbsp flour
2 medium white onion
3 tbsp tomato paste
1,8 l beef stock
Toss the dinner roll in the milk and let it soak through.
Use a very large pot (6 liters minimum); fill it 3/4 with boiling water and add lots of salt
Take a sharp knife and cut the them out in the middle of the cabbage head.
Loosen the first 2 leafs and discard them. If the next ones still have blemishes, discard more.
Carefully loosen 12 leafs and put 3 each in the boiling water for 4 min.
Take some kitchen towels and place the blanched leafs on top, let them cool down completely.
Take a sharp knife and cut off the thickness of the stems without removing them. When they are flat as the rest of the leaf, you can roll them easily.
Make the meat filling.
Squeeze out the milk and put the bread into the bowl with the meat, chop spring onions and garlic and add eggs, breadcrumbs and all the seasoning. Mix with your hand until you have a smooth dough.
Cut the bacon into thick slices and the onion into rings. In a little oil in the large pot let them take some colour and get them out.
Use one leaf and put a ball of meat in. Roll over and fold the sides in. Close with kitchen thread.
Pour a bit more oil into the pot and brown them on medium heat in 2 or 3 batches. Do not let them burn.
When all are out, pour a little stock in and scrape the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato paste and flour and loosen it with a bit more stock.
Get the onion rings and bacon in, scatter some parts of 2 cabbage leafs over and set the rolls on top in 2 tiers.
Fill up with stock until covered. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
Serve with a creamy mash.
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