Saturday, April 6, 2013

Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls


We go to St. Patrick’s Day parades on the Saturday and Sunday before St Patrick’s Day each year.  Last year, I made Cabbage Rolls (Lots of Work) with some of the cabbages we caught.  This year I wanted to make something less labor intensive and here it is.  I spent about 40 minutes prepping and then it bakes in the oven for 1 hour.  It is delicious!  Good enough for a dinner party with friends or family.

 Ingredients:
  • 1 ½ heads of cabbage
  • 1 lb. ground meat
  • 1 ½ C. cooked rice
  • ¼ C. olive oil
  • 1 onion, medium, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ t. thyme
  • 1 (15 oz.) can of tomato sauce
  • 1 can of Rotel tomatoes with green chilis
  • ½ T. Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ T. sugar
  • 1 t. kosher salt
  • ½ t. black pepper
  • 1 t. Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
  • 2 C. Cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Remove the core of the cabbage and cut into bite size pieces.   Rinse under cold water and strain.
  3. In a Dutch oven, heat half of the olive oil over medium heat and add the cabbage, stir well to cover the leaves with the oil and allow to cook for 15 minutes or until the leaves are wilted.
  4. In a skillet, brown the ground meat until brown and then drain.  Reserve.
  5. In the same skillet, sauté the onions with half of the olive oil over medium heat until soft.  Add the garlic and thyme for 1 minute.
  6. Add the tomato sauce, Rotel, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, Creole Seasoning and the ground meat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the rice to mixture and stir until incorporated well.
  7. Spray a 13’ x 9’ baking dish with cooking spray.
  8. Place half of the cabbage in the baking dish cover with half of the meat/rice mixture, and then the other half of the cabbage and then the other half of the meat/rice mixture.
  9. Seal the baking dish with foil.
  10. Bake for 45 minutes and then remove the foil and cover with the cheese.
  11. Bake for 15 minutes uncovered.
  12. Allow to set for 10 minutes and then cut into squares to serve.
Tips and Tricks:
  • This is great recipe for those St. Patrick’s Day cabbages.
  • This tastes great the next day, but it does NOT freeze well, so eat up.

4 comments:

  1. My grandmother used to make something like this. Something else she made that I'd like to recreate was something she called "poor man's stuffed artichoke." It was like a greenbean casserole but had the makings of a stuffed artichoke. She'd make it when artichokes were out off season or too expensive. Any suggestions on doing something like that Chex Helene??

    Also, what about this crawfish cornbread recipe I have been seeing pop on facebook? Do you do something like that?

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  2. Erin, I think the green bean and artichoke casserole recipe that I have in the cookbook is a good substitute for stuffed artichokes. It tastes a lot like them to me. As far as the crawfish cornbread goes, I have not attempted that. Someone told me they put crawfish tails in the corn casserole recipe, was that you?

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  3. I just found your blog via the Uptown Acorn. Your recipes look and sound delish! I have a question though, in this post you say that you made cabbage rolls from the "cabbages we caught". Do they throw cabbages at the parades?? I've never been to a St. Patrick's Day parade and now I am wondering what all I am missing out on. :) Thanks for the info!!

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  4. Yes Vickie,
    Cabbages, potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. are thrown off the floats at our St. Patrick's Day parades. It's a combination of beads and food. I'm glad you are liking my posts. I have over 200 recipes on the site, so there is something for everyone! Enjoy.

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