I love these cabbage rolls. The truth is that they take some time to prepare, but the result is so delicious that it is worth the investment. I usually make them for special occasions, and they are always a success. They hold up very well for several days in the fridge, so I make a good batch of them and eat them little by little in the following days. You won’t get tired of them because they are delicious.
It is a fun and original recipe, very typical of Romania. They customize stuffing cabbage leaves with meat and vegetables and then make a sauce to accompany them.
My recipe has a vegetable filling with mushrooms and vegetables that is spectacular. But it admits many other fillers, almost anyone you can think of. For example, you can prepare a mixture of vegetables and rice or use legumes. If you are not vegetarian, you can include minced meat or fish. All are good ideas.
The cabbage (cabbage) that you have leftover use to prepare other dishes. Here are a couple of ideas to include: purifying vegetable broth and purifying vegetable cream.
Ingredients
- 1 large cabbage
- For the stuffing
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 medium zucchini
- 350 g. mushrooms in my case 200 g. shitakes + 150 g. mushrooms
- A dash of soy sauce
- Ground black pepper
For the sauce
- 2 medium onions
- 3 carrots
- 1 clove of garlic
- A dash of white wine
- A dash of soy sauce
- Ground black pepper
- A dash of extra virgin olive oil
- 800 ml of water from the cooking of the cabbage leaves
Instructions
- Start by separating the cabbage leaves one by one (it will be easier to remove them if you cut a piece of the base). Prepare a pot with plenty of water on the fire. When it starts to boil, add a little salt and immerse the cabbage leaves. They will not fit all together; you have to cook them in batches of 4 or 5 leaves and cook them for 5 minutes. Remove the leaves and let them drain in a colander. Once they are all cooked, be careful, do not throw away the cooking water! Reserve it for use in the sauce.
- Prepare the stuffing: finely chop the onion, garlic, and carrots. Cook them over medium heat in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil. When they start to soften (about 5 minutes), add the zucchini and mushrooms chopped into tiny pieces. Add a dash of soy sauce and some ground black pepper. Let everything cook together for about 10-15 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust if necessary. Remove from heat and set aside.
- To make the sauce: chop the onions, garlic, and carrots. Cook over medium heat in a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil. When they have softened (about 10 minutes), add a splash of white wine. Turn up the heat so that the alcohol evaporates. Lower the heat again and add a dash of soy sauce and a little black pepper. Add 800 ml. of the water from cooking the cabbage leaves that you reserved earlier. Let it boil for about 10-15 minutes. Let the water evaporate a little. Put it in the blender and blend it.
- To make the rolls: spread the cabbage leaves. Cut off the bottom part that coincides with the stalk and is thicker, to make it easier to roll them. With the help of a spoon, put some of the filling on the leaf and start rolling from the back to the front, from the part where the stalk you cut off was. Make a first fold and tuck the sides of the leaf into the roll. Continue rolling tightly so that it is well fastened. Repeat the operation until all the rolls are done.
- Put the sauce in a bowl and place the rolls on it. Heat everything together so that all the flavors are well integrated and serve.
Notes
It also admits a number of variations in the filling. With vegetables and shrimps, for example, it is exquisite.
