There are many different versions of cabbage rolls out there. I make cabbage rolls much like those that my mom made...and we had frequently when I was growing up. Cabbage and beef were staples at our place! We celebrated my dad's birthday recently...and had an old-fashioned dinner together with family. I brought cabbage rolls, or 'hallapse' as we used to call them....my simplified version.
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 eggs
- two slices bread, soaked in water and then squeezed
- 1 medium potato, sliced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cans tomato soup, divided
- 2/3 cup long grain white rice, un-cooked
- 2 medium heads Savoy cabbage*
- tomato juice
- Place ground beef in large mixing bowl.
- Combine eggs, soaked bread, potato, onion, salt, pepper and one tin of tomato soup in blender. Process until completely smooth.
- Add pureed mixture to mixing bowl...along with the rice.
- Using your hands, mix well.
- Remove leaves from head of cabbage and place in large microwavable bowl. Add several tablespoons water, cover and microwave for several minutes on high, just to soften the leaves a bit. Savoy cabbage is most flexible, and doesn't require much steaming.
- Form meatballs with about 1/4 cup of meat mixture. Place on center of a cabbage leaf and roll up cabbage to enclose. Fit cabbage rolls snugly in the bottom of a roaster.
- Combine remaining can of tomato soup with 1 can of water. Pour over the cabbage rolls.
- Cover and bake at 350°F for about 2 hours.
- Check on cabbage rolls part-way through baking time and add tomato juice if more liquids are required.
- Before serving, combine tomato sauce (drained from pan) with 1/2 cup sour cream and heat through. Serve over cabbage rolls.
*If not using Savoy cabbage, I prefer to freeze the entire head in advance and then remove the leaves one at a time from the partially defrosted head of cabbage.
For more tasty recipes visit www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca