The mother-in-law of the Ukrainian journalist, founder of the online publication “GORDON” Dmitry Gordon, culinary YouTube blogger Inna Batsman on her channel “Gordon's Mother-in-Law” told how to cook awesome cabbage rolls according to the recipe that her grandmother taught her.
Gordon's mother-in-law noted: cabbage rolls according to this recipe are healthy, tasty and very aromatic.
“There are a lot of options for cabbage rolls, but I’ll stick to my own, the classic version, which we really like, which we have been preparing for many years,” emphasized Inna Batsman.
Products:
- 500 g pork;
- one head of cabbage;
- 100 g round rice;
- one medium carrot;
- two onions;
- 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
- 2 tbsp. l. sour cream;
- salt and ground pepper to taste;
- bay leaf;
- 50 g butter.
Preparation
- Finely chop the onion and grate the carrots on a fine grater. Make a general frying in vegetable oil: first sauté the onion, then add the carrots and simmer under the lid over low heat until beautiful. Divide the finished frying in half: one part will go into the minced meat, the second will go into the sauce.
- Grind the meat in a meat grinder, using a grid with the largest holes (it tastes better this way). Mix the meat, half-cooked rice and half the cooled roast. Add salt, ground black pepper and dried garlic (you can add Provençal herbs if desired). Knead the minced meat evenly with your hands. If the meat is not very fatty, you can add a little water for juiciness.
- Cut the stalk from the cabbage and put the head of cabbage in the freezer overnight. In the morning, take it out, rinse it with hot water and gradually remove the leaves. You can use another method – remove the stalk, lower the head of cabbage into boiling water, first with the cut side down for 5-7 minutes, then turn it over and gradually remove the softened leaves.
- Cut off the hard part (vein) of the prepared leaves without cutting the leaf itself, and lightly beat this area with a hammer.
- Place the remaining small cabbage leaves on the bottom of the mold or pan to prevent the cabbage rolls from burning. Place the minced meat on a sheet and wrap it in an envelope (like pancakes).
- Place in the mold tightly, with the belly down, so that they do not fall apart during cooking.
- To the rest of the frying, add sour cream, tomato paste, a little garlic, salt, pepper and dilute with warm boiled water. Stir thoroughly. The sauce should have a pleasant sweet and sour taste. There is no need to add flour – this is a classic version without lumps.
- Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls until they are completely covered. Cover the pan with foil.
- Place in the oven for one hour to cook at 180°C (maximum 200°C). 10 minutes before cooking, you can remove the foil.
- To keep the cabbage leaves soft and manageable, do not forget to lightly beat them.
