Adapted from Tyler Florence
I hope your long Labor Day weekend was great!
I went for a 6.2 mile (10K) run with my buds Kevin and Kevin on Friday. It was a hot and sweaty run very early in the morning but we got it done! They are going to be training for the 15k in November with me! I’m hoping to join them on our long run each week!
It was in the 90′s on Friday and Saturday in Chicago and then Sunday and Monday it was actually chilly – in the 60′s and windy! Gotta love Chicago weather but with chillier weather comes some warm comfort food!
Ingredients
Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce:
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
2-3 fresh tomatoes or 1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cabbage Filling:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
Splash dry red wine
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 large egg
3/4 cups steamed brown rice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large head green cabbage, about 3 pounds
Directions
1. Coat a saucepan with the oil and place over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Add the vinegar and sugar; simmer, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
3. Place a skillet over medium heat and coat with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the tomato paste, a splash of wine, parsley, and 1/4 cup of the prepared sweet and sour tomato sauce, mix to incorporate and then take it off the heat.
4. Combine the ground meat in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, the cooked rice, and the sauteed onion mixture. Toss the filling together with your hands to combine, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove the large, damaged outer leaves from the cabbages and set aside. Cut out the cores of the cabbages with a sharp knife and carefully pull off all the rest of the leaves, keeping them whole and as undamaged as possible, Blanch the cabbage leaves in the pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, or until pliable.
6. Run the leaves under cool water then lay them out so you can assess just how many blankets you have to wrap up the filling. Use all the good looking leaves to make the cabbage rolls. Put about 1/2 cup of the meat filling in the center of the cabbage and starting at what was the stem-end, fold the sides in and roll up the cabbage to enclose the filling. Place the cabbage rolls side by side in rows, seam-side down, in a casserole pan.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Pour the remaining sweet and sour tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls. Bake for 1 hour until the meat is cooked.
Serves 6.
Taste Test
I loved these cabbage rolls! Wholesome Husband was not as huge of a fan. He said the cabbage was like skin and he took the filling out and ate that. What a little kid! Although it was a little work, I thought they were delicious!
Did you know the cabbage is one of the oldest vegetables, dating back to the 1600′s?
