The Yum Diaries

(Photo from Marthastewart.com)

Okay, Okay, I know many people hold some strong reservations for anything Martha Stewart. I used to be one of those united in Martha bashing. However, I guess over the years my German heritage has taken ahold of me including the studious OCD homemaker genes which were passed on to me from my amazing German Grandmother, in turn leading me to embrace a large portion of the Martha Stewart culture. I will admit that when I want to find one of those tried and true classic recipes passed on down through generations I head to Marthastewart.com. Before I go hide in shame from these confessions, I must first share her recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls which is actually her Polish Mother, Mrs. Kostyra’s recipe and it is mighty good.

This was a group effort cooking adventure by my husband and I. We are vegetarian and we love taking childhood comfort food recipes and transforming them into healthier vegetarian dishes. So, what we did for this recipe is substituted the 16 oz of meat for a 12 oz. package of Morningstar crumbles and 4 oz of TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein, you can find TVP in the natural section of your local market). Instead of butter we used Extra Virgin Olive oil as well. I also included at the bottom of the recipe the few other changes we made.*

The link to the recipe is inlcuded as well as a picture of the final dish from the site above. I decided to not take the time to take a picture because honestly our final dish looked EXACTLY like the picture they included. I hate to admit it, but this recipe was much better than the dish my very own beloved Grandmother made when I was a child. They are deliciously comforting and one of those perfect cold weather meals. I highly recommend making these and they are toddler approved! One more noteworthy addition that only having a toddler can inspire is serving these with goldfish crackers, trust me it’s a good thing (hahah, I couldn’t resist).

I can’t wait to enjoy the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I hope you take the time to make them. Enjoy!

 Stuffed Cabbage Rolls a la Martha Stewart

  Ingredients

Serves 8

• 2 quarts water
• 1 large green cabbage (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 8 ounces ground beef
• 8 ounces ground pork
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 medium green pepper, grated
• 2 celery stalks with leaves, finely chopped
• 4 cups tomato puree
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

• 1/2 cup sour cream, plus more for garnish

Directions

1. Using a paring knife, remove center core of cabbage. In a large nonreactive stockpot, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add cabbage and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until outer leaves are bright green and tender. Lift cabbage from water, and remove outer leaves. Return cabbage to boiling water, and repeat brief cooking and removal of leaves until all leaves are cooked. Reserve 2 cups cabbage cooking water. Trim thick center vein from bottom of each leaf. Reserve four large outer leaves to line bottom of pan.
2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until golden and tender, about 8 minutes. In a large bowl, combine onion mixture, rice, beef, pork, salt, pepper, parsley flakes, green pepper, and celery. Stir to combine.
3. Add about 1/3 cup rice filling to one cabbage leaf. Fold sides of cabbage over filling, and, starting with the stem end, roll the cabbage up. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
4. Line a 5-quart Dutch oven with reserved outside leaves. Transfer stuffed cabbage leaves to Dutch oven.
5. In a large bowl, combine tomato puree and the reserved 2 cups of cabbage cooking water. Pour some of the tomato sauce over cabbage to almost cover. Sprinkle apple over top of cabbage leaves. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a gentle simmer; cover. Cook for 1 hour or until cabbage is very tender, adding additional tomato sauce as needed.
6. Place sour cream in a small bowl, and ladle in about 3/4 cup of tomato sauce from the cooked stuffed cabbage rolls. Whisk to combine. Add sour cream mixture back to Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Serve with additional sour cream.

*We did a few other things differently than the recipe called for. One, we omitted the apple and quadrupled the amount of garlic, I prefer a very savory dish and did not feel like being adventurous with the added sweetness from the apple. Two, we used a Napa cabbage instead of a green cabbage and did not cut the veins out of the leaves. I prefer the flavor of Napa Cabbage, however there were not quite enough leaves so I wound up having to use the big leaves that were supposed to cover the bottom of the pan. Three, we did not simmer it for the full hour since we were not using meat and had a hungry toddler eagerly awaiting his dinner. I think the hour long cooking is less about the raw meat and more about making sure the cabbage is fork tender. Plan ahead for that hour long cooking otherwise you will need a sturdy knife to go along with that fork. I would also suggest taking the time to cut out the veins in the cabbage leaves as they were tough in the end. It still turned out amazing though!