Stuffed cabbage
It’s been another week full of good weather, great food, and even better company. This week my friend Jillian came in for a night of cooking, and we took on one of my most ambitious recipes yet - Stuffed Cabbage.
The fact that we took on this challenging task together (or at least what seemed challenging before we succeeded) is unsurprising to me because action is what our friendship has always been based on. From crafting to kayaking to running 10Ks, we are united by “doing” together, no matter how much time passes between each endeavor.
The recipe we chose comes from one of my mom’s many cookbooks and was the perfect recipe to challenge our skills.
We mostly stuck to the book when it came to the recommended ingredients (is it a recommendation if its in a recipe?), but we took things up a notch by opting for the three meats (beef, pork, and veal) instead of just beef. Inspired by my friend Arthur, who told me his Russian grandmother would make him stuffed cabbage using pork and veal, I realized I had the three meats in my freezer for making meatballs. Let me just say - I am so grateful we got that tip because WHAT. A. MOVE!
One thing Jill and I talked a lot about is how recipes are really just guidelines - measurements, tactics, even ingredients can all be personalized to whatever sounds the best to you… and the dish can still be awesome. The more you cook, the easier making these alterations becomes. You only have a 28 oz. can of sauce instead of 32? No worries. You feel like you’re guessing on the size you chop the onions? It’s fine. Use your best instincts, take some chances, and just put a little thought into it.
For this recipe, one change we definitely recommend is switching up how to prepare the cabbage. This recipe requires you to halve the cabbage and then roll the leaves with the stem still on. The problem is that when you halve the cabbage, you’re probably cutting some nice big rolling-leaves in half. I think it may make more sense to just peel the leaves first, then boil everything.
We stumbled upon this video, which gave us some great suggestions for prepping and rolling the leaves. We found it particularly helpful to cut out the stems of the cabbage leaves, making them easier to roll. I will also add that you can definitely boil the cabbage leaves longer than the recipe requires - I think it would make the cabbage easier to cut when its on your plate later.
One step that you should probably stick to, though, is layering the rough outer leaves of the cabbage on top of the rolls before you bake them. We thought this step would cause a steaming-effect, but it turns out that it seemed to protect the meal from burning.
After an hour in the oven, peeeerrrrfection. We followed the recipe’s suggestions for applesauce and sour-cream on the side (although the applesauce was Mott’s instead of making our own - we’re industrious but not that intense), along with some cheese and potato pierogis.
I am so grateful that food brings me such joy and such great company. As we cooked and ate, we talked about our childhoods and sitting at “family dinners” each night with our parents. It kept them involved in our lives: they knew our friends, they knew our hobbies. “Friends dinners” are like that too - we don’t have them every night - it may not even be every month or every year. But food still brings us together to check in and be there for each other. And we are so lucky for that!
“We paired this with a Cabernet Sauvignon. The acidity of the wine matches the acidity of the tomato sauce and the wine’s firmness matches well with the hearty red meat stuffing.”
