Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Stuffed cabbage leaves are a simple yet delicious dish that's often overlooked. Cabbage rolls are very popular in other parts of the world and the filling and sauce very greatly from region to region. This recipe consists of steamed cabbage leaves that are wrapped around a filling of ground turkey (you could use ground beef) rice, onions and garlic. The stuffed leaves are then steamed in a pan and topped with a crowning of herbed tomato sauce. Very simple ingredients that make for a hearty and tasty meal.

As I said before, these rolls are very versatile. You can make them all vegetarian with a mix of rice and vegetables (mushrooms, zucchini, peas...) or change up the flavors and do minced lamb and rice with a yogurt sauce. Yum! That sounds good and I don't even eat lamb. Anyway, these cabbage rolls were a fun change up from our usual dinner rotation. I'll be making them again soon!

Serve these stuffed cabbage leaves with a side of veggies and you've got a complete healthy dinner.

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Ingredients
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup uncooked white rice*
8 cabbage leaves
1 pound lean ground turkey or ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato pasta sauce, divided

Directions
In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.*

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add head of cabbage and boil for 6 minutes or until softened (this makes the leaves more pliable). Drain, peel off leaves. When peeling, try to keep each leaf whole without any tears.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground turkey or beef, 1 cup cooked rice, onion, garlic, egg, salt and pepper, along with 1/3 cup of tomato sauce. Mix thoroughly.

Divide the beef mixture evenly among the cabbage leaves. Roll and secure them with toothpicks or string. You could also just wrap them and place them seem side down without securing them.

In a large skillet over medium heat, place the cabbage rolls and pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring and basting with the liquid often.

* You could also use quinoa, wild rice or brown rice. Just cook according to the package directions. You'll want one cup total of cooked rice.