Mr. Hank sent me this recipe and it sounds delicious. I love cabbage rolls, but they’re a bit of a hassle — precook the cabbage and remove the leaves one at a time. This has all the great flavors without all the hassle.
ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups rice, cooked
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons water, divided
1 large head cabbage, cut into 1-inch squares
directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat, add the beef and onion.
3. Sauté until the beef is browned and no pink remains, about 5-6 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Stir in tomato sauce, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, tomato paste and diced tomatoes
(including the juices).
6. Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
7. Remove the pan from the heat and add the rice.
8. In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil.
9. Once the oil is simmering, add 2 tablespoons of water and 1/2 of the cabbage. Sear until
just soaked, about 5 minutes.
10. Put the boiled cabbage on a plate and repeat the frying process with the rest
olive oil, water and cabbage.
11. In a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish, layer 1/2 of the cabbage.
12. Layer 1/2 of the meat sauce onto the cabbage in the casserole dish. 13. Repeat layers.
14. Cover the casserole with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
16. Remove the foil
17. Bake the casserole uncovered for 20 minutes.