I really have no idea where this recipe came from, as we're Italian, and its really not an Italian dish.
If you do searches online, you will come up with Hungarian and Polish backgrounds. My grandfather's sister married a man of Hungarian descent. It could have come from there. However, my grandmother used to also work for a Jewish caterer. She made life-long friends with the ladies she served with. One in particular happened to be a Holocaust survivor. I remember as a little girl, the old ladies would gather once a month for lunch. I can remember my grandma brought me once and I noticed that one of the ladies had a tattoo on her forearm. This was so strange to me, because I wasn't real familiar with tattoos, and especially ladies with tattoos. (All of that will change as I get older.)
I was so curious about this tattoo and like children do, my eyes became fixated on it. She noticed my curiosity and asked me if I knew what it was. "A tattoo!" I exclaimed, so proud of myself for knowing what it was. I was so cool even at the ripe age of 4 or 5. Ha ha! She then explained that it was put there by the German soldiers when she was forced into a concentration camp. She lost her entire family after that. Being that young, I had no idea what all of that meant, but I could gather that it wasn't for fashion and it wasn't a good thing. As I got older, I always remembered that day. And when Schindler's List came out and when I read The Diary of Anne Frank, it all became much clearer to me. What an intense moment that became in my memory.
So, you see, the recipe could have come from anywhere, but all I know is that my grandma made this quite often, and my sister, brother and I all enjoy it very much. Its a really simple recipe, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as we all do.
Grandma's Stuffed Cabbage
12 large green cabbage leaves, steamed until soft
1 1/2 lbs. ground meat (I used an 80/20 ground)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 cup cooked rice
1 white onion, finely chopped and sautéed in a little olive oil
2 eggs
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
3 cans tomato soup plus two cans of water
6 slices of bacon, cut in half
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Steam the cabbage. I got the biggest head I could find, cut out the core and steamed it until the inside was soft.
I removed all of the larger outer leaves after they cooled and set them aside. To cool them down quicker, you can run the head under cold water as you are peeling.
In a large bowl, combine meat, rice, eggs, parsley, onions, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Form 3" ovals out of the meat mixture and place it inside the cabbage leaves, roll and line in a 9" x 13" (or equivalent) glass baking dish. The mixture makes approximately 12 rolls.
Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove cover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
If you do searches online, you will come up with Hungarian and Polish backgrounds. My grandfather's sister married a man of Hungarian descent. It could have come from there. However, my grandmother used to also work for a Jewish caterer. She made life-long friends with the ladies she served with. One in particular happened to be a Holocaust survivor. I remember as a little girl, the old ladies would gather once a month for lunch. I can remember my grandma brought me once and I noticed that one of the ladies had a tattoo on her forearm. This was so strange to me, because I wasn't real familiar with tattoos, and especially ladies with tattoos. (All of that will change as I get older.)
I was so curious about this tattoo and like children do, my eyes became fixated on it. She noticed my curiosity and asked me if I knew what it was. "A tattoo!" I exclaimed, so proud of myself for knowing what it was. I was so cool even at the ripe age of 4 or 5. Ha ha! She then explained that it was put there by the German soldiers when she was forced into a concentration camp. She lost her entire family after that. Being that young, I had no idea what all of that meant, but I could gather that it wasn't for fashion and it wasn't a good thing. As I got older, I always remembered that day. And when Schindler's List came out and when I read The Diary of Anne Frank, it all became much clearer to me. What an intense moment that became in my memory.
So, you see, the recipe could have come from anywhere, but all I know is that my grandma made this quite often, and my sister, brother and I all enjoy it very much. Its a really simple recipe, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as we all do.
Grandma's Stuffed Cabbage
12 large green cabbage leaves, steamed until soft
1 1/2 lbs. ground meat (I used an 80/20 ground)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 cup cooked rice
1 white onion, finely chopped and sautéed in a little olive oil
2 eggs
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
3 cans tomato soup plus two cans of water
6 slices of bacon, cut in half
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Steam the cabbage. I got the biggest head I could find, cut out the core and steamed it until the inside was soft.
In a large bowl, combine meat, rice, eggs, parsley, onions, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Form 3" ovals out of the meat mixture and place it inside the cabbage leaves, roll and line in a 9" x 13" (or equivalent) glass baking dish. The mixture makes approximately 12 rolls.
Top each roll with a slice of bacon. In a large bowl, pour in tomato soup and water. Whisk until combined and pour over the cabbage rolls.
Cover with foil or a lid and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove cover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Notes: 1) If you would like to do a Paleo version of this dish, you can make cauliflower rice and substitute the rice in the dish.
2) Also, if you are not a beef eater, I'm sure ground turkey would be just as good.
Happy eating!
GG
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