Stuffed Cabbage

This is a good, hearty meal. We agreed that a higher rice/meat ratio in the fillng would be good. I might leave out the raisins next time, but they were fine. We had about ⅔ head of cabbage to use up, so they were slightly overstuffed. I used 2 fresh tomatoes and a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes for the sauce, and left out the sugar, and cooked it in a 325°F oven instead of on the stovetop. That worked fine, except for the fact that it was a 90° day today, so the oven wasn't ideal. This may be a better winter/fall dish.

Friday Night Stuffed Cabbage

Friday night dinner meant stuffed cabbage, challah, and chicken when artist Brenda Miller was growing up in New York. Her mother, Florence, who came to America in 1932 from Moldavia, "made the whole house smell like cabbage," Brenda remembers. "We ate this as an appetizer, with plenty of challah to sop up the juice."

1 Savoy Cabbage
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon raw white rice
6 fresh tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
¾ cup raisins
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sweet paprika

Cut cabbage across the base and separate the leaves. Any leaves that are not large enough to roll should be chopped.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Blanch the cabbage leaves until they are soft. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Drain and pat dry. Lay the leaves flat on a cutting board and cut out any thick ends, in the shape of a small triangle, at the bottom of the leaves.

In a mixing bowl, combine ground beef, egg, salt, pepper, half the lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of the chopped onion and the raw rice.

In a nonreactive large pot, combine the remaining chopped onion and the chopped cabbage.

Place 1 tablespoon meat mixture on the lower third of a cabbage leaf. Fold the base of the leaf over the meat mixture and then fold each side toward the center. Roll to form a cylinder. Place each cylinder on the onion and cabbage in the pot as you finish it.

Pour the tomatoes, tomato sauce, raisins, remaining lemon juice, the sugar, oregano and paprika over the cabbage rolls. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, over low heat for about 2 hours, to get all the flavors mingled.

Serves 4 to 6.

From Molly O'Neill's New York Cookbook