Recipe: Steven's Cabbage Rolls

This Cabbage Roll recipe is smoky, meaty and delicious. Try it for dinner, or pull a Steven and make a batch of 30 at a time and pop them in the freezer!

Ingredients

• 1 head sour cabbage
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 smoked pork hock

Filling:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ large yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 rib celery, finely diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup long grain white rice, cooked according to package directions and cooled
• 2 tbsp best quality paprika
• Kosher salt and black pepper

Sauce:

• 8 oz smoked bacon, cut into 1 cm dice
• ½ large yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 1 rib celery, finely diced
• 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes in juice
• Kosher salt and black pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13” baking dish with cooking spray. Cut the core from the bottom of sour cabbage and separate leaves, draining on paper towels.

Filling:

In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, beef and pork, and cook until meat is no longer pink, 10-12 minutes. Drain excess fat and set aside to cool. Combine cooled meat mixture with rice and paprika, season to taste. Store in refrigerator until ready to roll.

Sauce:

In a large saucepan, saute bacon over medium heat until fat is rendered, 8-10 minutes. Remove bacon from pan. Add onion, garlic, celery and carrot to saucepan, adding olive oil if necessary to prevent sticking. Saute vegetables until softened, 8-10 minutes. Empty tomato can into a medium bowl and crush by hand. Add crushed tomatoes and bacon to the saucepan, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat, season to taste.and set aside while you roll cabbage rolls.

Assembly:

Cut the leaves that are too small to make into rolls into a fine julienne and spread in the bottom of the prepared baking dish, along with a generous drizzle of olive oil. Lay one cabbage leaf down, with rib end closest to you.

Place approximately ½ cup filling on top of the cabbage and roll to cover the filling. Tuck the sides into the roll and continue rolling. Place cabbage roll in baking dish seam side down and repeat with the rest of cabbage leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and top with sauce.

Place the smoked pork hock in the center, cover with tin foil and bake for 40-45 minutes, until rolls and cooked through. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!