Jacques Stuffed Cabbage Recipes

JACQUES' STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Remove the 12 outermost leaves from the cabbage; blanch for a few minutes in boiling, salted water to soften.
• Rinse blanched leaves in cold water, then drain, and let dry; cut out a v-shaped "notch" to remove some of the tough rib of each leaf, set aside.
• Core remainder of cabbage and chop inner leaves into 1 inch pieces so that you have about 2 cups; wash and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat; add onion and celery and saute, while tossing and stirring, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and cabbage, cook another minute or so while tossing and stirring.
• Season with salt, pepper, caraway, and coriander, if using.
• Pour in stock, cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates and vegetables are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes (if too much liquid remains, simply remove cover and continue cooking).
• Remove vegetables to a mixing bowl and allow to cool; add cooked rice and ground beef, mix well (with hands).
• Be sure mixture is well seasoned as this is the stuffing (to test, fry a small amount in butter to taste seasonings).
• To make the sauce, set a casserole, or other oven proof pot, on the stove top and heat over medium high heat; add oil, onion, celery, and carrots.
• Saute until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 to 5 minutes.
• Stir in tomatoes, salt and pepper, and bay leaves; cover and simmer on low while you stuff the cabbage.
• Okay, now the fun part, stuffing the cabbage (this is a Jacques Pepin exclusive method that Julia Child found utterly charming and much easier than the traditional method): Lay a large square of aluminum foil flat on your work surface.
• Place the four largest cabbage leaves on the foil; they should overlap and form a circle with the "notch" on the outside of the circle.
• Spread 1/3 of the stuffing on top, leaving about a 2 or 3 inch margin all around.
• Repeat using the next largest leaves and another 1/3 of the stuffing; then layer with the smallest leaves and remainder of the stuffing.
• Now you are going to use the foil to reshape the cabbage into it's original ball shape, no, seriously.
• Lift the corners and outside edges of the foil, and bring toward the center, so that the bottom layers of cabbage come up and sort of cover the smaller leaf layers.
• Keep pressing and forming into a ball, you will have a small opening at the top of the foil.
• Pour wine and stock into the casserole with the sauce; invert the cabbage ball and place into the sauce with the opening DOWN.
• Bring to a boil, over high heat, cover and place in center of preheated oven.
• Cook 2 hours.
• Once done, remove cabbage to a serving platter; this can be accomplished, heh heh heh, with one of those wire pasta thingys, or a heavy spatula (the opening should still be down).
• Pierce the foil and gently remove, from around and under, without disturbing the shape of the cabbage.
• Cut into wedges to serve; spoon sauce over or serve on side.

AUNT PEGGY AND UNCLE BILL'S STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Insert a large fork into the bottom of the cabbage. Holding the fork place the cabbage into the boiling water for about 10 seconds. Remove from water and peel off the leaves. Place the leaves in a large bowl and set aside.
• Combine ground beef, uncooked rice, meatloaf seasoning, and eggs. Stir thoroughly; set aside.
• Remove cabbage leaves from the bowl and cut off white thick stem part. Line a large oven-safe 9 x 12 baking dish with the smaller inner white cabbage leaves.
• Place 2 tablespoons of meat mixture in the center of a leaf. Fold over sides and roll up. Repeat with remaining leaves and meat. Place cabbage rolls seam side down in cabbage leaf lined pan. Cover with chopped onions.
• In a small bowl, stir together pasta sauce and diced tomatoes. Pour over onions and cover pan with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.
• Serve hot with sauce.

STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Place cabbage head in freezer and freeze overnight. Remove from freezer, thaw and peel away leaves.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine the beef, egg, onion, rice, salt and pepper. Mix together well. Take a small handful and form into a small roll or ball. Place into the center of a cabbage leaf. Fold the sides of the leaf over and roll the ball up into the leaf. Place seam side down in baking dish. Continue until all of the filling is used up.
• Mix together the soup with a 1/2 can water; pour over stuffed cabbage.
• Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour; baste often with the sauce.

STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Discard any damaged outer leaves of cabbage and cut away enough of the core to make the leaves easy to remove from the head. Carefully remove and reserve the 12 largest leaves and set the heart aside.
• Cut out the thick, lower part of the central rib in each of the 12 leaves without disturbing the shape of the leaves. Chop these rib sections with the cabbage heart. You should have about 5 cups. Set aside.
• Bring the water to a boil in a pot. Add the 12 cabbage leaves, and bring the water back to a boil. Place an inverted plate on top of the leaves to keep them submerged in the water, and boil them gently for 10 minutes. Drain the leaves in a colander, and immediately place them in a pot of cold water to cool them. When the leaves are cool, lift them out of the water as carefully as possible, gently shake off excess water, and spread them out on a flat work surface.
• In a skillet, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and saute it for 1 minute. Stir in the garlic, and cook the mixture for a few seconds; then add the reserved chopped cabbage and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and boil gently for 10 minutes. Most of the moisture should have evaporated; if it has not, remove the lid, and cook until the mixture is just slightly moist.
• Transfer the cooked cabbage mixture to a bowl. When it is cool enough to handle, add the sausage, salt, pepper, allspice and parsley, and mix well. Finally, add the bread crumbs and mix them in lightly.
• Divide the sausage mixture among 9 of the cabbage leaves, spooning it onto the center bottom of each leaf. (Although the outer leaves of the cabbage are large enough to contain a serving of the filling, the interior leaves are smaller, and you may need to use 1 1/2 or 2 of them together to contain a portion of the filling.) Fold in the sides of the leaves, and roll them tightly to enclose the filling. You should have 9 individual cabbage rolls, 1 1/2 per person.
• In a large skillet, arrange the cabbage rolls in one layer, with seam side down, and pour the chicken stock around them. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and cook gently for 45 minutes. You should have about 1 cup of juice remaining around the rolls. Divide the cabbage rolls among six plates, spoon some of the juice over them, and serve immediately.

POLISH STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Place the head of cabbage in a large pot over high heat and add water to cover. Boil cabbage for 15 minutes, or until it is pliable and soft. Drain and allow to cool completely. Remove the hard outer vein from the leaves.
• In a separate large bowl, combine the beef, rice, garlic powder and the egg, mixing well. Place a small amount, about the size of your palm, into the center of a cabbage leaf and fold leaf over, tucking in the sides of the leaf to keep meat mixture inside.
• Pile up the filled leaves in a large pot, putting the larger leaves on the bottom. Add the tomato juice, vinegar and sugar and enough water to cover. Simmer over medium low heat for about 60 minutes. (Note: Keep an eye on them, making sure the bottom of leaves do not burn.)