Stuffed Cabbage with Ground Meat

Ingredients

• 1 medium white cabbage head
• 3 stale rolls
• 3 shallots
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 3 Tbsp plant oil
• 700 g ground meat
• 2 Eggs
• 4 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• Salt
• freshly ground pepper
• paprika peppers
• Cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp butter
• 250 ml beef stock
• 0.5 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 220 °C.

2. 2.

   Remove the outer leaves from the cabbage and cut out the core. Blanch the cabbage head in boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes, then remove it, carefully separate the outer soft leaves, and immediately shock them with cold water. Place on a clean kitchen towel.

3. 3.

   Blanch the remaining cabbage again, detach the outer leaves, etc., until all leaves are removed. Lay all leaves on kitchen towels (possibly several) to drain, then cut the thick ribs of the leaves flat.

4. 4.

   Soak the rolls in slightly warm water for the filling. Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic cloves. Heat oil in a small pan and sauté onions and garlic until translucent. Squeeze out excess liquid from the rolls and mix them in a bowl with eggs, shallots, garlic, parsley, and ground meat. Season well with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika.

5. 5.

   Sprinkle the cabbage leaves on kitchen towels with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Spread some of the meat mixture onto each leaf. Coat the smallest leaves with a little meat mixture and begin to bundle them into a small bundle. Wrap these bundles with increasingly larger leaves until a cabbage‑shaped bundle forms. Tie the stuffed cabbage tightly with kitchen twine. Heat butter in a roasting pan and brown the cabbage bundle all around, pour in beef stock, and bake in the hot oven for 45–50 minutes, basting with stock periodically. Let the stuffed cabbage cool slightly, then cut into pieces and serve warm.