Getting into the cabbage

This recipe is probably not remotely authentic since I learned how to make stuffed cabbage from my Vietnamese mother... but it is pretty tasty. The cabbage is rolling in to the CSA now, and its nor really slaw time anymore, so I thought I would go for something warming and comforting like my mom's stuffed cabbage braised in tomato sauce. Our CSA also recently joined the Louis Waite Farm CSA which is a meat farm that is also sort of a farm co-op working with a bunch of other vendors in the area (upstate and southern VT) to provide other goodies like bread, honey, eggs and jams - yum! These week we ordered some ground beef among other things, and I thought stuffed cabbage would be a perfect thing to make.

This recipe is pretty simple and straight forward. I took the whole head of cabbage and submerged it in salted boiling water for a few minutes, until it begins to soften. I then strained it and cooled it under a little cool water to stop the cooking and make it easier to handle. Meanwhile, I diced an onion and began sauteeing it in a pan with a bit of olive oil. I peeled away the largest leaves of the cabbage - about 12 leaves in all - and cut out the tough base of the vein at the bottom. After the onions were cooked through I mixed in about a pound of ground beef (I think the package said 0.92), and a half cup of uncooked rice, with some salt and pepper. I scooped a heaping spoonful into each leaf and rolled it up, securing it with a tooth pick. I laid them in large, wide based pot and simmered them in about a cup and a half of red sauce which we had already made in the fridge, with about a cup of water or so to surround the cabbage about 3/4's of the way up, and add a little drizzle of olive oil. Cover and simmer for about an hour. It should be ready to go, but once you take the cabbage rolls out, if the sauce isn't as thick as you would like it, reduce it about until it is the desired consistancy. Enjoy!