verve
[vərv]
noun
verve (noun)
About the Recipe
One of the most comforting traditional foods for the fall and winter season. I have made these every fall for our family with the cabbage from our garden. I definitely recommend using the boiling water to soften your cabbage beforehand -it's a game-changer! It also ensures that all of the homegrown pest.... evidence is washed away.
This recipe is excellent for freezer prep meals and can be frozen for up to a year in a deep freezer with proper sealing (double layer).
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef, bison etc.
1C cooked organic white or basmati rice (great use for leftover rice!) or barley, my favourite!
tsp parsley, fresh is best
1 egg
2/3C milk
Cloves (4-6)
tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
bay leaves
onion, finely diced
tomato sauce/juiced
cabbage
I always double or even triple this recipe to freeze ahead for busy activity nights. These can be reheated by popping them in the oven before heading to hockey practice, or in the crockpot on low all day to come home to.
Preparation
Begin by preparing a LARGE pot with salted boiling water, enough to submerge the head of cabbage into. Grease your casserole dish, or pan with deep edges, or your individual oven-safe glass freezer meal dishes.
Once the water is boiling, take a large chef's knife and cut around the core into the head of the cabbage as deeply as you can, preferably in 4 precise insertions, in a sort of a pyramid shape into the cabbage. I am working on a video tutorial and will link it here in the future, remind me ;)
Gently place the cabbage head into the boiling water for about 3-10 minutes or until the cabbage colour turns vivid and the leaves soften slightly. Use metal utensils to lift the cabbage onto your workstation. Be careful! It will be hot for a while! Keep the water at a simmer in case you need to dunk the head again as you work inward.
Peel off the outer cabbage layers carefully and stack into a pile for adding filling to.
Combine beef, rice, parsley, egg, milk and half of the onion (at this point you can choose to make this into a casserole instead with layered cabbage and all of the onions). Add salt and pepper.
Place in the centre of a cabbage leaf, beginning at the stem end, and roll. Place in a greased pan with an edge. Add bay leaf, cloves, and remaining onion on top. Pour tomato sauce over everything. Salt and pepper again. Keep tomato juice or more sauce on-hand to add if they are looking dry as they cook. Tent with aluminum foil if browning or drying too quickly.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 1/2- 2 hours