How to cook cabbage rolls with rice and minced meat: recipes

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

In our time, stuffed cabbage is a common and beloved dish that is prepared both as a hearty everyday meal and as a festive treat. The complexity of the preparation of cabbage rolls is medium. But one who has mastered all the subtleties of the process may well be proud of himself and consider himself a good cook.

And those who have not yet been able to surprise their loved ones with a fragrant dish with ruddy gravy, will find in our article several recipes and many tips on how to cook cabbage rolls with minced meat.

A bit of history

Surely everyone who is in love with cooking is interested not only in the technology of cooking various dishes, but also in their history. The history of cabbage rolls is really fascinating and very interesting.

True, when and where it began, no one knows for sure. Today we are accustomed to consider that this dish is our family. Yes, and abroad, in the menu of restaurants and in collections of recipes for Russian cuisine, you can meet the word Golubtsy, which means that foreigners also consider foodRussian.

But in fact, cabbage leaves with pork are mentioned in the works of Aristophanes (425 BC). It turns out that Ancient Greece can claim the title of the birthplace of this dish.

True, Ancient China is ready to challenge such an assumption. After all, for more than 2 thousand years there has been a legend about the sage's disciples who wrapped rice in cabbage in order to save the teacher who fell into the water from predatory fish. While the others were busy feeding underwater animals, one young man decided to try a cabbage bundle and was very pleased with the result. By the way, this legend reminds us that our cabbage rolls and oriental rolls are almost family.

The dish is well known to the Turks. But they used grape leaves and lamb for its preparation. The recipe quickly spread throughout the Muslim countries of Asia, and later came to Europe, where the chefs slightly modified it, replacing some components with more familiar ones.

In Russia, back in pre-Petrine times, dumplings were prepared. The stuffing of minced meat and wheat groats was wrapped in cabbage leaves. A little later, a new dish appeared that came from France - carcasses of pigeons baked on a grill. That's what it was called - pigeons. And the common people made a kind of haute cuisine dish, forming lumps commensurate with carcasses from pieces of meat, cereals and cabbage leaves. In those days, the word "stuffed cabbage" began to spread. In Dahl's dictionary, by the way, it is indicated that "galushki" and "stuffed cabbage" are synonymous names.

Be that as it may, today this dish is any-expensive for every gourmet. A variety of recipes cannotnot to please.

Product selection

First, let's try to cook lazy cabbage rolls with minced meat, cabbage, rice and gravy. We will need one large or a couple of small, strong cabbage forks that are free of stains and damage.

For a full-bodied taste, opt for minced pork and beef. Chicken or turkey are put in the filling by those who prefer a delicate texture.

For the dish, long-grain or round rice is suitable, you can also use chopped. Many cabbage roll recipes regulate other cereals: millet, wheat, buckwheat.

The gravy is also important in this dish. For her, choose fragrant onions and strong juicy carrots.

Experienced housewives may not use scales and even a measuring cup to measure the right amount of products, everything is taken "by eye". But if you are making cabbage rolls for the first time, stick to the following proportions:

• cabbage - 2 medium heads;
• minced meat - 1 kg;
• rice - 1 tbsp;
• onion - 1 pc.;
• carrots (optional) - 1 pc.;
• spices and s alt.

To cook lazy stuffed cabbage with cabbage, approximately the same set of products is used. And how to make gravy, we'll figure it out a little later.

Preparation of minced meat and cereal base for cabbage rolls

Before cooking stuffed cabbage, rice is washed with water, and then boiled until cooked, not allowing to be digested. Try to evaporate all excess liquid, but if this fails, discard the rice on a sieve and letdrain liquid. Wait for the rice to cool.

Grated raw onion is added to minced meat, but some housewives prefer to finely chop it and fry in oil until golden brown. Together with onions, you can also stew diced carrots.

Thoroughly mix the minced meat, vegetables and rice, s alt and pepper. To check if there is enough s alt and seasoning, you can fry one small patty and taste it.

Blanching and trimming cabbage

To cook stuffed cabbage, cut off the stalk from the cabbage with a sharp knife. Carefully remove the leaves one at a time. Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on the fire to bring it to a boil.

Before wrapping, the leaves must be blanched in boiling water, otherwise they will be brittle. Put them in a few pieces in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then take them out with a slotted spoon and put them in a colander to drain the excess water.

Too thick veins at the base of the leaves cut off with a sharp knife, otherwise they will crack. Do not pour out the vegetable broth in which the leaves were blanched, it will be useful for stewing.

Shaping products

It is most convenient to use leaves the size of a small plate. In this case, you will need about a full tablespoon of minced meat for each cabbage roll. Lay it on the edge, and then wrap it more tightly in cabbage, as if you are packing a gift. Squeeze the finished envelope between your palms, compact it, giving it a shape.

Let the stuffed cabbage dry out a little so that excess moisture does not get into the hot oil (this can cause splashes, which is extremely unpleasant).

Tomato sauce

For cabbage rolls, they usually cook fried vegetables and tomato or tomato paste. To do this, finely chop 2 onions and one large carrot. Sauté vegetables in olive or vegetable oil and then add 250 ml of tomato or a few tablespoons of tomato paste dissolved in a glass of cabbage broth left over from blanching.

If you cook cabbage rolls with minced meat in such gravy, they will be fragrant and beautiful.

Toasting and stewing

Let's move on to the next step. To cook cabbage rolls, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Spread cabbage rolls in hot fat, but do not try to fill the entire space with them. There should be a small distance between the cabbage rolls.

Experienced housewives recommend putting cabbage rolls on the side on which the edge of the cabbage leaf is located. In this case, it will be convenient to turn them over, they will not open.

Fry over medium heat. The first side will brown in a couple of minutes, so it's time to turn over. Wait until the back side is also browned, then remove the cabbage rolls from the pan, add oil if necessary, and load the next batch.

Place the toasted envelopes in a saucepan, a heavy-bottomed pot or a cauldron. Pour each layer of cabbage rolls with tomatogravy, trying to get onions and carrots too. You also need to fold with the open edge down so that your even bundles do not lose their shape during stewing. After filling the whole pan with lightly fried cabbage rolls, pour in the rest of the gravy, cover with a lid and put it on a small fire for about an hour.

It is important to monitor the intensity of the boil. If your brew is bubbling too much, the cabbage rolls will swell and disintegrate. While cooking, add vegetable broth or boiling water to cover all packages.

At this stage, you can add bay leaves, peppercorns, suneli hops, dried garlic, turmeric and other favorite seasonings to the pan.

Oven baking

There is another way to cook cabbage rolls without much hassle. This does not require pre-frying. Simply place the cabbage bundles on a deco, in a glass-ceramic saucepan or other refractory dish and pour over the gravy. Send to bake in a hot oven for at least half an hour. At the very end of cooking, you can decorate the cabbage rolls with a cheese cap and lightly brown it in the oven for a couple of minutes.

Lazy cabbage rolls

If you want to learn how to cook lazy cabbage rolls and think this recipe will save you a lot of time and effort, then you are in for a discovery. For example, one cannot draw an analogy here with lazy dumplings, for the preparation of which you only need to mix the ingredients, knead the dough and cut it into pieces. Let's face it, to cook lazy cabbage rolls with minced meat and cabbage, you have totinker.

But this dish is beautiful in its own way, and its taste is much richer than ordinary meatballs. Only the use of ready-made minced meat will help save time.

Products are taken in approximately the following quantities: for a pound of minced meat you will need 1.5 cups of boiled rice and a full half-liter can of finely chopped white cabbage.

To get a delicate texture, pour boiling water over the cabbage and cook for about five minutes. After recline on a sieve, let cool and carefully wring out all the water with your hands.

Stir the ingredients, beat a raw egg into the minced meat, s alt and season. You can cook lazy cabbage rolls in any of the above ways. Form even identical products the size of a chicken egg with your hands dipped in vegetable oil. This will prevent them from sticking to the pan or baking sheet during the heat treatment.

Stuffed cabbage with Beijing and Savoy cabbage

Few people know, but these exotic vegetables can also be used to cook cabbage rolls. The recipes are basically identical, but there are some tricks.

When choosing Beijing cabbage, give preference to large light heads of cabbage. Small leaves from the middle will not be useful to us (but you can make a salad out of them). Blanch for at least five minutes.

According to the reviews of many chefs, it is even easier to form cabbage rolls from thin oblong leaves of Chinese cabbage than from ordinary cabbage. The taste of the dish is simply magnificent, it is much moreexpressive.

Savoy cabbage is a rather expensive vegetable, so it is usually used for the festive menu. Cabbage rolls are bright, fragrant and slightly crispy.

In both cases, the cooking technology is identical to that discussed above. These varieties of cabbage are also suitable for cooking lazy cabbage rolls.

In grape leaves

You can cook cabbage rolls with minced meat and rice in grape leaves. This dish, which is called dolma in Central Asia and the countries of the Middle East, is usually called grape cabbage rolls in our country. This is an excellent solution for the end of spring and the beginning of summer, when the grape leaves are already filled with aromas and vitamins, but have not yet lost their tenderness. Canned leaves can be used in other seasons.

You can make the usual stuffing of minced meat and rice for these cabbage rolls. And you can add some ground walnuts to it, as they do in Georgia.

The leaves are washed, poured over with boiling water, each is placed on a dessert spoon of the filling. The size of the products will be small - a little more than a finger. Stuffed cabbage can be immediately put in a large cauldron, it is not necessary to fry them. During stewing, it is necessary to monitor the liquid level and add tomato juice or broth.

Serve such a treat both as an independent dish and as an appetizer for a side dish and meat delicacies on the festive table.

Vegetarian recipe

Do you know how to cook cabbage rolls deliciously during Lent? To do this, you just need to replace the minced meatmushroom. A vegetarian will also enjoy such a treat.

If you use forest mushrooms, boil them for half an hour and drain the broth. Twist in a meat grinder, and then overcook the minced mushroom with onions. Add rice and form cabbage rolls.

Do not add any fats of animal origin during stewing and baking, then you will definitely get a wonderful vegetarian lean dish that is in no way inferior to meat counterparts in taste. And in order not to drown out the delicate aroma of mushrooms, do not season the food with too spicy spices. A small amount of allspice is enough.

Sour cream sauce

It is customary to serve sour cream with cabbage rolls. Home, separator or jug is perfect. Some housewives suggest mixing sour cream with an equal amount of mayonnaise, adding a couple of cloves of garlic, passed through a press, and a little young dill. It is advisable to prepare such a sauce for 15 minutes before serving, so that it is properly saturated with aromas.

Serving to the table

Stuffed cabbage is usually served hot at the festive table. For everyday cuisine, it is quite acceptable not to warm up this dish. Many, by the way, prefer the chilled version.

Stuffed cabbage rolls laid out on a plate are poured with the gravy in which they were prepared. Sour cream should not be laid out on plates, it is better to place several gravy boats on the table so that guests can add it at their discretion.

This dish can be served as an appetizer with strong alcohol, but if the format of the holiday does not include strong alcoholdrinks, offer guests tomato juice, mineral water or cranberry juice. Homemade pickles go great with cabbage rolls. Fresh herbs don't hurt either.