Cabbage Rolls Stuffed With Meat

From the lands of Romania comes this recipe rich in vitamin C, sodium, magnesium, calcium and dietary fiber. In this article you will learn how to prepare cabbage rolls stuffed with meat.

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Beef Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe

For a party or a family meal, the meat rolls will be a surprise and a delight . Although they seem very difficult to do do not be fooled, the result is really worth it.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ kilo of cabbage leaves or cabbage
• 1/2 kg of minced pork
• 2 large onions
• 1/2 kg of minced beef
• 2 red bell peppers
• 100 grams of rice
• 300 grams of smoked bacon or bacon
• 5 tablespoons of tomato sauce fried

• 150 ml of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of Cimbru (this typical Romanian spice can be substituted for chopped thyme)
• Salt to taste
• 1 slice of bread
• The juice of a lemon
• Cabbage leaves

Process:

To prepare the filling:

• Cut the onions and peppers very thin.
• Sauté them in a saucepan with a little  olive oil, until the onion is somewhat translucent and everything is soft.
• Add the raw rice previously washed and stir well so that it does not stick.
• Pour in half a cup of water and keep stirring a little more until the rice is cooked.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle the bacon into small squares and mix with the meats.
• Add to this mixture the slice of bread soaked in water and two tablespoons of olive oil.

• Season the mixture with dill, salt, black pepper, tomato sauce, and cimbru or thyme.
• Add the cooked rice and stir. Let it cool and set it aside

To make the rolls:

• Heat a saucepan with water and lemon juice. Add the cabbage leaves and leave them for a few minutes. Take them out when they are somewhat tender.
• Drain and chop them into rectangular pieces roughly the same size as each other.
• Roll out one of these pieces and place a heaping tablespoon of the meat and rice filling in the center  .
• Then fold the sides to the middle, like a package or roll the sheet like a crepe. Repeat with each of the cabbage leaves until the filling is gone.
• Don’t over-squeeze the rolls. So that they do not open, you can use a thread or a toothpick.

For the finish:

• Take the   leftover cabbage and cut it fine. Place in a large saucepan. In Romania this recipe is prepared in a clay pot.
• Pour 6 tablespoons of olive oil on top, so that it is like a mattress.

• Place five cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice on top of this mattress, which are not too close together (If the container is small, put less quantity and if, it is large, more).
• Top that first layer with one or two whole cabbage leaves.
• Put a second layer of rolls in the same arrangement as the first ones and so on until you finish with all of them.
• Once you have the last layer, add water to just over half of the saucepan.
• Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. When it comes to a boil, reduce to a minimum and cook for two hours. You may need to add more  water so it doesn’t burn, so check every 20 minutes.
• When this time has elapsed, place the rolls on a tray and serve them with polenta sautéed in cream or cream.
• They come out about 50 cabbage rolls. Enjoy them!

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