Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 large green cabbage about 12 large usable leaves, 600 g after trimming; reserve extra leaves for patches
- 600 g 90% lean ground beef
- 250 g cooked white rice about 1 2/3 cups, cooled
- 200 g onion 1 large, finely diced; divided
- 3 cloves garlic minced, about 9 g
- 1 tablespoon olive oil 13.5 g
- 2 teaspoons paprika about 4 g; divided
- 4 g fine salt about 2/3 teaspoon; divided
- 800 g canned crushed tomatoes with their juice
- 2 teaspoons sugar about 10 g
- 1/2 cup water 120 ml
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley optional garnish, excluded from nutrition
Equipment
- 1 Large deep pot
- 1 Tongs
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 9-by-13-inch baking dish
- 1 Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
Prepare and cook
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Remove the cabbage core carefully. Lower the head into a deep pot of simmering water and loosen outer leaves with tongs as they soften, about 2–3 minutes at a time. Continue until you have 12 large pliable leaves. Drain and cool; shave thick ribs thinner without cutting through.
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook half the onion for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and half the paprika for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, sugar, water and half the salt; simmer 5 minutes. Spread a thin layer in the baking dish.
- Mix raw ground beef with cooled cooked rice, remaining finely diced onion, remaining paprika and remaining salt. Mix lightly and divide into 12 portions.
- Place one portion near the base of each cabbage leaf. Fold the sides inward and roll into a comfortable parcel without packing tightly. Patch small tears with spare softened leaf pieces. Arrange seam-side down in the dish.
- Pour remaining tomato sauce over the rolls and cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake 80–100 minutes, until the leaves are tender and the center of the beef filling reaches at least 160°F (71°C). If leaves remain firm, continue covered, adding a little hot water if the sauce is drying.
- Rest 10 minutes. Serve two rolls per person with sauce and optional parsley.
Nutrition
Serving: 1portionCalories: 331.7kcalCarbohydrates: 24.9gProtein: 24.3gFat: 13.3gSodium: 383mgFiber: 6.6g
Video
Notes
Video reference: Jenny Can Cook, published 2013-03-06. Jenny demonstrates filling softened cabbage leaves with raw ground beef and rice, wrapping and baking them covered. Her version uses uncooked converted rice, mushrooms and a lighter tomato liquid. This written recipe uses already-cooked rice and a thicker tomato sauce; do not substitute dry rice for the cooked quantity.
The filling starts with raw beef and already-cooked, cooled rice. Cooked rice weight is not interchangeable with dry rice weight. If using ground poultry instead, the filling must reach 165°F (74°C).
Nutrition is estimated from ANSES Ciqual 2025 for 600 g usable cabbage, 90% lean beef, cooked rice and tomato ingredients, divided into six portions of two rolls with sauce. Canned tomato with juice approximates crushed tomato. Below-threshold values use half the threshold. Optional parsley and sides are excluded.
Illustrative cost assumptions, not live prices: beef $6, cabbage $1.80, rice $0.40, tomatoes $1.60, onion/garlic $0.80, oil/spice/sugar $0.80 = $11.40.
Refrigerate promptly in shallow containers, use within 3–4 days and reheat to 165°F (74°C).
