Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage: A vegetable about as large and wise as a man's head. ~ Ambrose Bierce

There exist several interesting cabbage recipes all around the world; almost every cuisine has a distinct cabbage recipe. One of the most popular cabbage recipes is a cabbage roll, which is nothing but cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around various mouthwatering fillings made up of different ingredients. The cabbage rolls are a common dish found in the peasant cuisines of Europe and Western Asia. Here are some interesting cabbage roll recipes that you can try out yourself!

Balandėliai - Lithuanian Cabbage Rolls

Lithuania is a republic in northeastern Europe on the Baltic Sea, which is home to the Balandėliai which is the Lithuanian name for cabbage rolls. Balandėliai is traditionally made with a filling that contains ground beef and cooked rice. Here is the recipe for making the perfect Balandėliai.

Ingredients

• Head Cabbage – 1
• Cooked Rice – 1 cup
• Ground Beef – 1 lb
• Egg – 1
• Finely Chopped Onion - 1 cup
• Finely Chopped Celery – 1 cup
• Finely Chopped Bell pepper – ½ cup
• Tomato Puree – 1 cup
• Beef Stock – 1 cup

Preparation

1. First of all mix the beef, rice and all the vegetables. Beat the egg and add it to the mixture. Make sure that all the ingredients get mixed thoroughly.
2. Make small portions or dollops of this meat mixture, which you can transfer comfortably into the cabbage covers.
3. For the covering, take the head cabbage and parboil it in salt water. Cook the leaves for a short time and drain the water.
4. Allow the cabbage to cool after you have drained the water from it, and then slowly separate the cabbage leaves from the core.
5. Now that the cabbage and the filling is ready, simply add dollops of the filling on cabbage leaves, fold the leaves and fasten with a toothpick. You can even tie the rolls with a thread if you don’t want to use toothpicks.
6. Now place the rolls in the baking dish and pour the tomato puree and the beef stock on the rolls.
7. Cover the baking dish with a foil and place it in the oven. Bake it for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Now remove the foil of the baking dish and bake again for 25 - 30 minutes and serve the hot cabbage rolls.

Lahana sarma – Turkish Cabbage Rolls

In Turkey cabbage rolls are called lahana sarma, which is derived from the word sarma that means ‘wrapping’ or ‘rolling’ and lahana refers to the cabbage leaves. Based on the variety of leaves used, there exist a wide variety of stuffed rolls in the Turkish cuisine. Traditionally the lahana sarma is made with minced meat, rice, onions, and a sizable amount of local herbs, salt and freshly ground pepper.

Ingredients

• Head Cabbage - 1
• Ground Beef / Lamb meat – ½lb
• Cooked rice – 2 cups
• Olive Oil – ½ cup
• Finely Chopped Green Peppers - 2
• Finely Chopped Garlic – 4 cloves
• Finely Chopped Parsley – ½ cup
• Finely Chopped Tomatoes – 2
• Red Pepper Puree – 1 Teaspoon
• Salt and Pepper

Preparation

1. For the filling, mix the rice, meat, peppers, garlic, tomato, parsley and the red pepper puree. Make sure you mix the ingredients well and make dollops of the mixture.
2. For the cabbage covering, separate the cabbage leaves from the core and cook in normal water for about 25 minutes. Drain the water and allow the leaves to cool down.
3. Now fill the cabbage leaves with the mixture and fold the edges of the leaves under the roll.
4. Now place the cabbage rolls in a shallow baking pan. Once you have placed the rolls, pour some hot water, salt and pepper on the rolls.
5. Allow the rolls to cook for about 30 minutes. Serve these cabbage rolls hot, along with a dash of fresh lemon juice