Serving Size

12 Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 large head cabbage

• 4-5 quarts vegetable or mushroom (or veg) stock, for braising the cabbage rolls, and cooking lentils

  LENTIL FILLING:

• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil

• 2 medium onions, peeled and diced

• 1 pound mixed mushroom, cleaned and roughly chopped

• 1 cup dried French lentils, cooked in water or broth

• 1/4 cup basmati or jasmine rice, cooked in water or broth

• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

• 2 Tbsp breadcrumbs or matzo meal

• 2 eggs (or plant-based egg replacement)

• 1 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt

• hearty pinch of pepper

  Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce:

• Grapeseed or vegetable oil, for sautéing

• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced 

• 1⁄4 cup tomato paste 

• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 

• 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

• 1⁄4 cup packed dark brown sugar 

• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar 

• 1⁄4 teaspoon hot paprika (optional) 

• 2 cups finely chopped sauerkraut

• 1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice 

• Kosher salt 

Instructions

1. Prep Sauce: In a saucepan over medium heat, heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onions and sauté until they begin to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste to coat the onions and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, pepper, brown sugar, vinegar, and hot paprika (if using) and cook at a low simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the sauerkraut, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Set aside. 
   

2. Prep Cabbage Leaves: Bring a large soup pot of salted water to a boil. Remove the core of the cabbage and place the cabbage head in the boiling water. After a few moments, the outer leaves will turn translucent and begin to separate. Using tongs, remove the translucent outer leaves and set aside. Repeat again and again, continually peeling off the outer leaves, being careful to keep the leaves from ripping. When leaves are slightly cooled, use a paring knife to trim off the toughest part of the leaves’ ribs, which will make them easier to use later.
   

3. Prep Filling: Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium heat then add onions and sauté until they begin to caramelize. Add mushrooms and sauté until shrunken and browned, adding salt along the way, to taste. Set sauteed mushrooms and onions aside. Assemble other filling ingredients (onions and mushrooms, lentils, rice, herbs, breadcrumbs, eggs, salt, and pepper) and combine in a large bowl (we love using our hands to do this).

4. Assemble: Lay a cabbage leaf flat and scoop a scant ½ cup of the filling into the center (adjust filling quantities as cabbage leaf size may vary). Fold in the two outer sides of the leaf over the filling and roll away, starting at the side closest to you, like a burrito. Take care not to rip the leaves, but fold as tightly as you can. Set aside on a plate. Once the rolls are assembled, pour a layer of tomato sauce at the bottom of a Dutch oven (or other oven-safe dish with high walls), then lay each roll in the baking dish packed tightly, atop the sauce, in a single layer. Then pour in enough sauce to cover the rolls completely. If you do not have enough sauce to cover them entirely (depending on the size of the dish), feel free to add water to ensure the cabbage rolls are covered.
   

5. Cook: Cover the baking dish and place in an oven pre-heated to 300F, then braise for 2 to 2 ½ hours, checking along the way to ensure that the cabbage rolls are not dried out and adding a bit of water if they appear to be drying. Stuffed cabbage is ready when the rolls feel completely soft when pressed with a finger (careful, they’re hot). Remove from the oven.

6. Serve: Let cool in the Dutch oven, with cover removed, for 15-30 minutes before serving. Serve the cabbage rolls hot, on a bed of sauce, garnished with a generous dose of chopped parsley and dill and a squeeze of fresh lemon. You can make stuffed cabbage a days in advance as it reheats well in the oven, and it freezes well, too.