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Sweet-and-Sour Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Melissa Hart

Sweet-and-Sour Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Stuffed cabbage earns its oven time: the leaves turn silky, the beef stays tender and the tomato sauce gets a faint sweet-and-sour edge. Parboil the whole head instead of wrestling raw leaves loose. If a roll splits, place it seam-side down and it will still cook just fine.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 large green cabbage about 3 lbs
  • 1 1/2 lbs 85-percent lean ground beef
  • 1 cup cooked long-grain white rice
  • 1 cup finely diced yellow onion
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 28 oz canned tomato sauce
  • 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F and simmer the whole cabbage in a large pot of water for 8 minutes, peeling off 12 softened outer leaves as they loosen.
  2. Trim the thick center rib from each leaf without cutting all the way through.
  3. Mix the beef, rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper gently and divide the filling among the leaves.
  4. Fold the sides over the filling, roll each leaf snugly, and arrange the rolls seam-side down in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
  5. Whisk the tomato sauce, broth, brown sugar and vinegar, pour it over the rolls, and cover the dish tightly with foil.
  6. Bake for 90 minutes, uncover for 10 minutes, and check that the filling reaches 160°F before serving.