Whole Stuffed Cabbage

Saw this recipe on YouTube and had to give it a try! Savory minced pork and a bunch of veggies are gently simmered in chicken broth until the cabbage is tender and delicious!

Ingredients:

2 lb savoy or regular cabbage

2 tbsps olive oil

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced yellow pepper

1/2 cup diced red pepper

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup sliced cabbage

2 tsps minced garlic

1 tsp dry celery seed

12 oz (300 g) minced pork

2 eggs, beaten

3 0z (100 g) cheese, shredded (I used cheddar)

2 tbsps fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

3 1/2 cups (900 ml) chicken broth

First you want to start to prepare the cabbage. Remove the tough outer leaves, then disassemble the cabbage taking off about 8 large leaves. You'll have to cut away some of the stalk end at some point. Blanche them in boiling water for 2-4 minutes then right into a large bowl of cold water and drain.

Line a medium sized bowl with plastic wrap.

Lay 3 long pieces of kitchen string in the bowl, long enough to tie around the whole stuffed cabbage. Set aside.

In a large skillet cook all the vegetables in olive oil on medium high for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic for 1 minute. Push the veggies to the sides of the pan and add the minced pork. Cook just until no pink remains. Add the celery seed.

Beat the eggs and stir quickly into the mix. Stir well so that you don't get chunks of cooked egg. Finally add the parsley, salt, pepper and cheese.

Now to the assembly of your stuffed cabbage...

Put 4 leaves around the bottom of the bowl, overlapping. Spoon about 1/3 of the filling in and press firmly. Lay another cabbage leaf on top.

Repeat with another 1/3 of the filling and a cabbage leaf.

And again until the stuffing has all been spooned in. Cover the top with the remaining cabbage leaves (1 or 2) .

And gather the plastic wrap up and around the cabbage firmly.

Remove the plastic wrap and tie the strings up to hold the shape of the cabbage. Place it in a pot and pour the broth in so it's at least halfway up the cabbage.

Cover with a lid and bake in a 350°F oven for 1 hour.

That broth and the remaining bit of cabbage will go into a nice cabbage soup sometime in the near future.

Now cut the strings and remove them and let the cabbage rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

The serving pieces keep their shape very nicely!

With a side of potatoes this recipe will serve 5-6 people.

Original recipe from: Cookist.com