Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Ground Meat

Ingredients

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• 1 white cabbage about 1.2 kg (2.6 lb)
• 500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef and pork
• 1 day-old bread roll soaked
• 1 onion finely diced
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp clarified butter
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 400 ml (1 3/4 cup) beef broth
• 100 ml (3.4 fl oz) heavy cream
• 1 tbsp cornstarch for thickening

Method

1. Cut the core out of the cabbage in a wedge shape. Simmer the whole head in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 minutes, loosening the outer leaves one by one as they soften and lifting them out. Take off 8 large leaves.
2. Cut the thick center rib of each leaf down flat so the leaf rolls up easily.
3. Squeeze out the bread roll and knead it with the ground meat, onion, egg, salt, marjoram and pepper into one even mixture. Divide it into 8 portions.
4. Place one portion in the middle of each cabbage leaf, fold in the sides and roll up tightly. Tie with kitchen twine, or simply lay the rolls seam side down.
5. Heat the clarified butter in a Dutch oven and brown the rolls on all sides for 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and deglaze with the broth. Cover and braise over low heat for 40 to 45 minutes.
6. Remove the rolls and keep them warm. Stir the cream into the braising liquid, thicken it with the cornstarch stirred into a little cold water, and season with salt and pepper.

Tip: Part of the cabbage is left over after blanching. Slice it finely and stew it with bacon and caraway as a side dish.

Tip: The rolls freeze well as long as they sit in the sauce. That keeps them juicy when they thaw.

Food safety: Always cook ground meat all the way through: the core temperature at the coldest point must reach at least 158 °F (70 °C) and be held there for at least 2 minutes; use a kitchen thermometer. Do not taste raw ground meat.