Mediterranean Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

A simple dish that can look elegant when presented the right way :)

How to stat talking about this recipe. First of all, it is entirely simple and cost effective to make. All you need is about 45 minutes in the kitchen and you will end up with a beautifully presented meal that costs almost nothing to prepare.

Cabbage, ground beef, and spices! That  is the basis of this dish that I have made my own by adding a few Mediterranean flavorings to it, which make it delicious to enjoy with my family.

First of all, we need a full head of cabbage. It makes it easier to tear away the leaves if we remove the core and submerge the entire thing in some boiling water for about 5 minutes.

Sometimes, as you get into the inner leaves, they may still be a little hard, just re-submerge them in hot water again for a couple minutes, and they should become malleable. 

Now, while you have the cabbage in the water take advantage of the 5 minutes to make the ground beef mixture. Mix together ground beef, green onions, white onions, garlic, mint, tomato sauce, rice, and some olive oil. Season with salt ad pepper.

*It is always best to work with very cold meat, do not over mix as the mixture will become tough once cooked. 

Now that we have our ground beef mixture and our cabbage leaves on a pile we are ready to assemble. Grab about 1/2 - 1/3 of a cup of ground beef mixture and 1 cabbage leaf. Place the meat at the very end corner of the leaf ( the corner that would be the core ) and roll the leaf into a little package. This is better described with pictures, so........

Secure with a tooth pick and place in a wide skillet.

Repeat the process until all the beef mixture is done. This recipe should yield about 14 normal bundles and a couple small ones. I used two pans to cook this.

After you have placed all the bundles in the pans, season with salt and pepper. Top with the rest of the tomato sauce and enough chicken stock to reach half way up the bundles. Place the lid on the pans and cook over medium high heat for about 30 - 35 minutes.

I topped mine with a little green pepper just because I had some left over from the previous night, not needed at all.

After all that cooking, remove the lid and let the liquid reduce to a thick sauce, so you can drizzle over the bundles. Now this equals about 14-15  bundles. Usually I just eat about 2 and a small salad on the side. My boyfriend however can eat about 5-6, so when there are more than about 5-6 people eating I usually make a simple white rice to accompany the cabbage rolls.

Now, any food can be boring if not presented the right way. I really do like to make pretty plates, even if it is just Denis and I. The whole thing just makes dinner more of an experience instead of a " I have to feed my family so they don't starve thing."

Ingredients:

• 1 whole cabbage head
• 2 lbs of ground beef ( I use the 90-10 kind )
• 1/2 cup of mint leaves ( semi packed )
• 4 tablespoons of chopped green onions
• 3-4 cloves of minced garlic
• 4 tablespoons of chopped white onions
• 10 tablespoons of tomato sauce ( 3-4 tblsp for meat mixture and the rest to top the bundles once they are in the pan )
• 2 tblsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup of raw rice
• About 3-4 cups of chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to taste