Braised Stuffed Cabbage
Recipe type: Side dish
Cuisine: Delicious!
This dish is best as a side dish, but it is VERY festive and absolutely delicious! You’ll be fighting for the last roll.
Ingredients
- 1 cabbage (Savoy is best): 8 leaves
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp Driftless Sunflower Oil (or EVOO)
- 1-2 Onions, finely chopped (approx ⅔ c.)
- 2 tsp dried Rosemary, coarsely chopped OR ground smaller if you have a mortar & pestle.
- 2 large cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 celery stick, chopped OR 1-2 Tbsp of Celeriac, minced
- Approx 1 c. toasted pecan pieces
- 1-1 ½ c. cooked rice
- ½ c. craisins OR cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 2 c. vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
Instructions
- Bring large pot of salted water to boil.
- While it is heating up, remove the central core of the cabbage. Take off any “icky” outer leaves. When water is boiling, put whole cabbage in for 1-2 minutes, flip if needed for full water contact half way through. When it’s wilty, then it’s done.
- Drain and refresh until cold water. Drain well. Take each leaf and pat dry before stuffing.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Heat butter & oil in a medium sized pan, add onion. Brown onions, about 5 minutes.
- Add rosemary and celery/celeriac/. Lightly salt the mix. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add minced garlic. 2-3 more minutes.
- When it is fragrant, add cooked riced and toasted pecans until everything is well incorporated and rice has a “glistening” appearance. Take off of heat and add craisins/cranberries.
- Spoon the stuffing into the cabbage leaf, roll up/fold to enclose the filling. Use between ¼-⅓ c of filling per cabbage leaf. It varies based on how big the leaf is.
- Put in an oiled, shallow baking dish. ** A 9 x 13 pan is a little big, but perfect if you are doing a 1 ½ batch (12 cabbage rolls)*** Make sure the seem is facing down on the pan. Fill up your pan with remaining cabbage rolls.
- Mix 2 c. stock, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar & 2 tsp. Honey together and pour into the pan.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake at 350F for 1 hour. Take foil off, bake for an additional 15 minutes.