Ingredients
Scale
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 quarts crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the cabbage rolls:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Splash dry red wine
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups steamed white rice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 large heads green cabbage
Instructions
To prepare the sauce:
- Add oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, and sauté until light brown. Add tomatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce thickens, about another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
To prepare the cabbage rolls:
- Add oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, red wine, parsley and 1/2 cup of the prepared sauce. Stir to combine, and then remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, break up ground meat. Add the egg, cooked rice and sauteéd onion mixture. Toss the meat mixture with your hands, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Salt water in a large pot, and bring to a boil. Carefully remove the core of the cabbage to produce as many whole leaves as you can. Add the cabbage leaves to the pot of boiling water until pliable, about 5 minutes.
- Run the leaves under cool water, and arrange them on a work surface. Remove the tough center vein of each cabbage leaf. Place 1/2 cup of meat filling in the center of a cabbage leaf. Fold in the sides of the leaf, and roll from stem to top to enclose. Place rolls side-by-side and seam-side-down in rows in a casserole pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Pour remaining sauce over the rolls.
- Bake for 1 hour or until the meat is cooked through.