Yugoslavian Stuffed Cabbage

[debthecook]

I've made this so many times, my favorite stuffed cabbage rolls:
Yugoslavian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls:

Core 1 head cabbage
Boil with water and 1 cup vinegar 20 minutes
Drain and COOL!!!

Brown 1 onion, 1/4lb bacon, 3 garlic cloves, 1 bunch parsley chopped, 2 stalks celery, salt and pepper. Brown with it 1/2 lb each of ground beef, veal and pork. COOL!!!

Trim cabbage leaves, trim ribs of leaves. Keep heart of cabbage.
Add 1/4tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, 1 egg, salt and pepper to meat mixture with 1/8 cup RAW RICE.

In another bowl, mix 1 plastic bag sauerkraut with 1 can pureed tomatoes and chopped heart of cabbage.

Fill cabbage leaves with meat mixture, layer in large casserole sauerkraut cabbage mix/cabbage rolls/sauerkraut cabbage mix etc, place rolls tightly against each other. Cover with canned tomato juice. Sprinkle top with 1 tbs sugar and 2 cloves. Bring casserole to boil on top of stove, then cover and bake 350 oven for 2 hours. Serve with boiled potatoes. Better 2nd and 3rd day.

 

[Audeo]

Okay, deb. You got me hooked by this one, which I must try! This sounds sooo good for a yucky, cold evening!

 

[shantihhh]

Sarma are often made with soured heads (cabbage that is soured/pickled). This makes the leaves more pliable and the taste is very good. We always use Vegeta to season the meat mixture. My daughter's mother-in-law, Milka made 300 of the Sarma for their wedding. She uses smoked pork in the sourkraut. She doesn't use the nutmeg, Cinnamon or egg, but each person in various parts of the former Yugoslavia makes them as little differently. Usually they use beef and lamb, but also pork is used sometimes.

Same with Cevaps/cevapcici-a mixture of ground meats is wonderful. The secret to perfect cevaps is the soda water! Anyone have a recipe for Lapinja? That is the wonderful chewy flat bread eaten with cevaps.

 

[Claire]

MIL used to take the head of cabbage and make four cuts around the core. Then she'd skewer the core with a huge meat fork. A pot of boiling water would be on hand. The cabbage head went into the pot, and as each leaf became piable, she'd remove it and place on a towel. As they cooled, she shaved the spine of the leaf off so that the entire leaf would be easy to wrap around the filling. The ground meat would be variable; her favorite was 1/3 each pork, beef, and veal. I tend to use beef and turkey. A polish friend introduced me to tossing a kiebasa into the pot along with the rolls for a bit of smoky flavor. I use V8 instead of tomato juice, I like the richness of it, and put in a couple tablespoons of paprika (MIL's touch). Hubby was just reminding me that I didn't make this last winter, so you know it'll be happening as soon as it gets cool enough. Mom used to serve hers with potatoes, MIL with either more rice (remember there's raw rice in the meat mixture) or egg noodles. A vinegar-y cucumber and dill salad is the perfect side dish. Once I bought some paprika that turned out to be ... hot. I mean, really hot. I've bought "hot" paprika before, but neveer like this. And this is a dish that is hard to taste as you go along. We were astonished, but our guests loved it.

 

[shantihhh]

smoked paprika

I use half sweet and half hot paprika for a nice balance. My favourite is the Spanish Smoked Paprika. Try using Schaller and Webber Double Smoked Bacon or smoked ham shanks not hocks for good smokey meat. I mix the meat and or bacon with the sauerkraut bed. Also I use fresh tomatoes or the canned whole ones, which I just canned more of today from the garden.

Vegeta is great in the ground meat also.

If you haven't tried Vegeta you will be hooked when you do. It is available at Eastern European markets.

Mary-Anne

MIL used to take the head of cabbage and make four cuts around the core. Then she'd skewer the core with a huge meat fork. A pot of boiling water would be on hand. The cabbage head went into the pot, and as each leaf became piable, she'd remove it and place on a towel. As they cooled, she shaved the spine of the leaf off so that the entire leaf would be easy to wrap around the filling. The ground meat would be variable; her favorite was 1/3 each pork, beef, and veal. I tend to use beef and turkey. A polish friend introduced me to tossing a kiebasa into the pot along with the rolls for a bit of smoky flavor. I use V8 instead of tomato juice, I like the richness of it, and put in a couple tablespoons of paprika (MIL's touch). Hubby was just reminding me that I didn't make this last winter, so you know it'll be happening as soon as it gets cool enough. Mom used to serve hers with potatoes, MIL with either more rice (remember there's raw rice in the meat mixture) or egg noodles. A vinegar-y cucumber and dill salad is the perfect side dish. Once I bought some paprika that turned out to be ... hot. I mean, really hot. I've bought "hot" paprika before, but neveer like this. And this is a dish that is hard to taste as you go along. We were astonished, but our guests loved it.

 

[thumpershere2]

Thanks for the recipe deb, I just picked 5 cabbage heads from my garden and this recipe sounds like one I can make and freeze. My deer hunters will love it.