Lazy cabbage rolls: recipes and cooking tips

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Cooking classic cabbage rolls causes a number of difficulties for some housewives. First, the cabbage must be disassembled into leaves, then wrap the minced meat in them so that it does not fall out during the boiling of the products in the sauce. The cooking process is time-consuming and tedious. It is for this reason that lazy housewives came up with their own recipe for cabbage rolls. The filling does not need to be wrapped in a sheet, and this same cabbage is simply enough to mix with minced meat. We will tell you how to cook lazy cabbage rolls in the form of cutlets in the article. We will definitely dwell on all the nuances of this delicious and uncomplicated dish and do not forget about useful recommendations.

How to cook lazy cabbage rolls: ingredients

For this dish, you need to prepare the following products from the list:

• minced meat - 500 g;
• white cabbage - 400 g;
• onion - 150 g;
• garlic - 2-3 pieces;
• rice round - 100g;
• sour cream - 250 ml;
• tomato paste - 3 tbsp. l.;
• warm boiled water - 2 tbsp;
• vegetable oil - 50 ml;
• black pepper - ½ tsp;
• s alt to taste.

From the above amount of ingredients, you should get 24 lazy cabbage rolls in the form of cutlets. Minced meat is preferably used from pork with beef (in a ratio of 1: 1) or with chicken. Cutlets before frying in a pan can be additionally rolled in flour. This will seal the meat juices inside.

Now you can directly start the process of cooking meat and cabbage cutlets.

Stuffing for cabbage rolls

In a traditional recipe, minced meat and rice are wrapped in cabbage leaves. And in lazy cabbage rolls, this is not necessary. It is enough to chop the cabbage well and combine it with the meat, after passing it through a meat grinder.

Minced meat for lazy cabbage rolls in the form of cutlets is prepared as follows:

1. Chop the cabbage as finely as possible or grate on a special grater, transfer from the board to a deep bowl, pour boiling water and leave covered for 10 minutes to make it soft.
2. Chop with a knife or grate the onion. Combine it with minced meat.
3. Cook rice. To do this, rinse it well, changing the water several times until it becomes clear. Pour rice into a saucepan, pour boiling water over it (200 ml), add a pinch of s alt. Bring water to a boil, then cover the pot with a lid and remove from heat. Rice should be goodsteam.
4. Put the cabbage in a colander and additionally squeeze it out with your hands.
5. Add cabbage and cooled rice to minced meat with onions.
6. S alt, pepper and mix. If the minced meat turns out to be dryish, you can add a raw egg to it.

Shaping and frying cutlets

When the stuffing for lazy cabbage rolls is ready, you can proceed to the next cooking step:

1. Take about 70-90 g of minced meat with a tablespoon (you need to weigh it so that the products are the same size).
2. With wet hands, shape into oblong patties. You can freeze them at this point or start cooking them right away. Cutlets from the freezer must be “brought” to room temperature before frying.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Fry the cutlets on both sides until a light golden brown is formed. To ensure that the products do not fall apart in the pan, it is recommended to roll them in flour before frying.

Lazy cabbage rolls are baked in the form of cutlets in the oven. To do this, they should be transferred directly from the pan to a baking dish with sides so that the sauce does not leak out during cooking.

Step gravy

There are several options for preparing a sauce in which pre-fried meat and cabbage cutlets are baked. It can be made from fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, ketchup, adding fried in vegetable oilcarrots and onions. When diluted with water, a delicious gravy is obtained.

According to the simplest recipe, lazy cabbage rolls with rice and minced meat are baked in a sauce of sour cream and tomato paste. It is prepared as follows:

1. In a deep bowl put sour cream and pasta. Add s alt, pepper (½ tsp each).
2. Pour the contents of the bowl with warm boiled water. Mix well with a spoon or whisk until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. It is important that the sour cream dissolves.
3. Taste the gravy. You may need to add more s alt or other spices (dried basil, oregano, paprika).
4. Pour the cutlets with sauce so that it covers the products to the middle. Otherwise, they may lose their shape.
5. Reserve 6-7 tablespoons of gravy for the last step of cooking.

Baking lazy cabbage rolls in the oven

After frying the formed cutlets and transferring them to a high-sided mold, you can immediately heat the oven to a temperature of 180 °. While it is heating, you should make the sauce and pour it over the prepared products. Next, you need to put the form in a preheated oven on the middle level.

Lazy cabbage rolls in the form of cutlets in gravy are baked for 40 minutes. During this time, a beautiful appetizing crust should form on top of the products.

While the lazy cabbage rolls are baking, it's time to chop the cilantro and mince the garlic. Combine them with the remaining sour cream and tomato sauce.

After 40 minutes of bakingcabbage rolls in the oven, the form should be removed from the oven, and the products themselves should be poured over with sauce and cilantro and garlic. Continue the cooking process for another 5 minutes.

Lazy cabbage rolls served hot on their own or with mashed potatoes.

Cooking secrets

Lazy cabbage rolls in the form of cutlets - a dish that, with all the technology, is obtained even by beginners. And the following tips will help you avoid the difficulties that sometimes arise when preparing them:

1. Half-cooked rice should be added to minced meat. If you cook it completely, the patties may fall apart during the cooking process in the oven. If the rice is raw, it will absorb all the meat juice, which is why the cabbage rolls will turn out dry inside.
2. Cabbage must be boiled or steamed in hot water before adding to minced meat. Otherwise, the minced meat will turn out to be non-sticky and it will be difficult to form cutlets out of it.
3. You can add more water to the sauce than indicated in the recipe. Gravy should not be enough. Otherwise, the cutlets may burn while baking in the oven.

Now you know the secret to making lazy cabbage rolls. Bon appetit!