Back in the day at the Canada Day celebrations l would race over to the Ukrainian tent at Riverside Park and line up for a plate of cabbage roll with perogies and sausage. Years went by and some of the tents were replaced by newcomers. Sushi and Tim’s didn’t entice. OK, I liked the peaches at the Italian tent, but I didn’t particularly care for the pasta they served. I have eaten at the Colombo Hall so I am well aware what Italian pasta should taste like. But mostly I just missed the cabbage rolls.
Thought it was time to try my hand at making it. Recognizing there are endless varieties and mostly vegetarian versions, I picked a video that seemed close to my own cabbage rolls. The stuffing had more meat than rice. I can’t claim authenticity, I had to simplify it... a lot. Still, the six cabbage rolls I made were surprisingly tasty and we enjoyed them on three consecutive nights with various accompaniments.
At the end I found a lovely video of a Ukrainian lady preparing cabbage rolls with a dreamy quality to it. Enjoy it or make her recipe. She made a large pot of it. Mine makes only six.
Ukrainian Style Cabbage Rolls
8 leaves of white cabbage
1/2 cup rice
Vegetables:
2 Tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Carrots, finely grated
2 Tbsp quality preferably homemade tomato sauce
3 sprigs of fresh parsley or 1 tsp dry
salt and pepper to taste
200g lean ground pork
2 Tbsp + 3/4 cup 14 % sour cream
1 1/2 cup homemade pork or vegetable stock
Prepare ingredients:
• First separate the cabbage leaves from a full head of white cabbage.
• The instructions are HERE.
• Once the leaves are separated, cook them in simmering water until they are soft enough to roll.
• Trim off [don’t cut them off, just trim] thick parts of the stem for easy rolling.
• Then set them aside to cool.
• Next cook the rice and set it aside to cool.
Next prepare the vegetables:
• Slow fry the onions in a large non stick skillet.
• Add the garlic and the grated carrots and the parsley.
• Stir in 2 Tbsp tomato sauce.
• Slow cook stirring the vegetables on low medium heat for a few minutes.
• Transfer the vegetables to a food processor and puree.
• Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide the pureed vegetables.
Make the stuffing next.
• Add the ground pork, the cooked rice and half the pureed vegetables to a large mixing bowl.
• Add 2 heaping Tbsp of sour cream, salt and pepper to taste and truly combine the mixture wearing food safe grade plastic gloves or with your clean hands.
• Divide the stuffing six ways and wrap them inside 6 of the cabbage leaves burrito fashion.
• Set them aside.
• Next add 2 Tbsp of oil to an ovenproof pot.
• Take the remaining 2 cabbage leaves and lay them inside the pot.
• Arrange the cabbage rolls on the top.
Next make the sauce:
• Add the remaining pureed vegetables in the skillet with the tomato sauce and the pork stock.
• Bring to a slow simmer.
• Stir in 3/4 cup sour cream and remove skillet from the heat.
• Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls.
• Cover and place in a 300F oven for 3 to 4 hours. If making larger quantities, increase oven time.
• Serve with buttered pasta.
• Yields 6 cabbage rolls.
