Cabbage Rolls

For years my husband has wanted to make cabbage rolls. I'm sure the look on my face, indicative of having whiffed poo, discouraged him. Finally, I let him take the reins. He hasn't really been able to cook since January, when I started The Zone, because of all the measuring involved. Why should he pull out a teaspoon when he can TOTALLY eye-ball olive oil in the pan...cause he's cool like that...not. I digress...cabbage rolls. I have never really known what they are and Shawn's years in Korea have scared me off of things like kimshee, so I assumed cabbage rolls were also some sort of rotted, fermented nastiness of the cabbage soup diet I tried in college. Ick.

To put it simply, I was wrong. Yes, cabbage rolls are super yummy, and my hubby was happy because he got to don an apron and cook. I was not there over his shoulder with, "I can't have that", or, "Only 1/3 tsp. for me". Now you know why he's avoided the kitchen. I actually felt sort of bad for him when his face fell the other morning because he had gotten up too late to start the pancakes for the kids. This was his gift to me for drinking beer and eating crap in front of me all weekend.

The stuffed cabbage recipe Shawn used also had it's own sauce, but he used a different recipe he had previously found.

Homemade Tomato Sauce (adapted from allrecipes)

10 ripe tomatoes

2 T evoo

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c chopped fresh basil

1/2 c raisins

1/4 c red wine vinegar

1 bay leaf

2 stalks celery

Bring a pot of water to boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop 8 tomatoes and puree in food processor. Chop remaining two tomatoes and set aside.

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion, carrot and garlic in evoo until onion starts to soften, 5 minutes. Pour in pureed tomatoes and stir in chopped tomato, basil, raisins, vinegar, celery stalks and bay leaf. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Stuffed Cabbage adapted from Barefoot Contessa

1 large head green cabbage, including outer leaves

2 1/2 pounds ground chuck

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 c finely chopped yellow onion

1/2 c riced cauliflower*

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 t ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Remove the entire core of the cabbage with a paring knife. Immerse the head of cabbage in the boiling water for a few minutes, peeling off each leaf with tongs as soon as its flexible. Set the leaves aside.

For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, eggs, onion, cauliflower, salt and pepper. Add 1 cup of the sauce to the meat mixture and mix lightly.

Preheat oven to 350°.

To assemble, place 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Remove the hard triangular base rib from each leaf with a paring knife. Place 1/3 c of filling in each leaf near the edge and roll upward, tucking the sides as you roll. Place half the rolls, seam side down, over the sauce. Add more sauce and more rolls alternately until all the cabbage rolls are in the pot. Pour the remaining sauce over the rolls. Cover the dish with a lid and bake for 1 hour. Serve hot.

*Riced cauliflower: Cook the cauliflower head however you prefer, by microwave, steam or boil. Cut off stems and place in food processor and process until a rice/paste consistency.