Tomatoes are an excellent source of antioxidants including vitamins A and C, lutein, and lycopene. The carotenoid, lutein, which is found in abundance in tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, and egg yolks, may help promote cognitive function and prevent age-related macular degeneration and cataracts, and breast cancer. With tomato season in full swing, we thought we would spend the month exploring the many delicious uses for this versatile summer bounty.
This week’s recipe for Stuffed Cabbage features a few surprise ingredients, some from the orchard, and one straight out of the cookie jar. It was sent to CCSA as part of a series of emails from our resident chef, Dr. Linda Doody. She began sharing her extensive collection of favorite recipes with friends, family, and the CCSA team as a means of maintaining connections during the COVID-19 pandemic and it has since become a company tradition.
“A good dinner and feasting reconciles everybody.”
–Samuel Pepys
Stuffed Cabbage
Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook, Dorie Greenspan (2018)
Notes
Ms. Greenspan was a columnist for The New York Times Magazine and has written 14 cookbooks. She has also won 5 James Beard Awards—1 for journalism; 3 for cookbooks (Baking with Julia [1996], Baking From My Home to Yours [2006], Dorie’s Cookies [2016]); and 1 for being voted into the Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America—as well as 2 Cookbook of the Year Awards from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (Desserts by Pierre Hermé [1998] and Around My French Table [2010]).
Ingredients
- Cabbage Rolls
- 1 large head green cabbage (either standard green or Savoy cabbage can be used, but Savoy cabbage [originally from Italy] has deep green, crinkly leaves that are more pliable and stand up to longer cooking times)
- 1½ pounds ground chuck
- ½ pound sausage meat (sweet or hot sausage, or a combination of the two. An equal amount of ground chuck can be substituted if desired)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped, then rinsed and patted dry (according to Epicurious, rinsing cut onions or shallots in a sieve under cold running water [while stirring] for about 60 seconds makes them taste sweeter and less sharp)
- 2 shallots, finely chopped, then rinsed and patted dry
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup long-grain rice (long-grain rice is 3–5x longer than its width; examples are Carolina Gold, basmati and jasmine)
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1½ Tbsp soy sauce
- Sauce and Additions
- 2 cans (28 ounce) whole tomatoes with the juice
- ⅓ cup unsweetened apple juice
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 6 crushed gingersnap cookies (optional) (included in several online recipes. It is a traditional ingredient in the gravy for sauerbraten, a marinated meat roast)
- 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 onion, sliced, rinsed and patted dry
- 1 apple, finely grated
Instructions
- Cabbage Rolls
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, pull off any tough outer leaves from the cabbage. Turn the cabbage upside down and carefully cut out the core with a heavy knife. Pull off the outer 18 or so leaves (the largest on the head). Drop a couple of leaves at a time into the boiling water and leave them for a minute or two, just until softened. Shake off the excess water as you remove them, then pat dry. Working with one leaf at a time, spread each out on a cutting board with the outer side facing up. Using a paring knife or vegetable peeler, cut or shave down the central rib so that it is approximately even with the rest of the leaf. Set the trimmed leaves aside to make the rolls, and thinly slice the rest of the cabbage for the sauce.
- In a large bowl, mix together the meat, onion, shallots, garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, rice, lemon zest, ketchup, and soy sauce as though making meatballs. Be thorough but try not to work the stuffing too much.
- To construct the rolls, lay a trimmed cabbage leaf inner side up on a work surface (it will form a cup). Shape about ¼ cup of the stuffing into a little log. Place the log horizontally across the cabbage, keeping it within the bottom third of the leaf, and lift the bottom of the leaf up and against or over the meat. Fold the two sides over the log and start rolling the log up in the leaf until you get to the top (like making a burrito). Make the rolls as compact as possible, and secure with toothpicks if desired. Repeat with the remaining leaves and stuffing.
- Sauce and Additions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, open the cans of tomatoes, and still within the can, snip the tomatoes into small pieces using kitchen scissors. Pour the tomatoes and juice into a large bowl and stir in the apple juice, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, and cayenne pepper. In another bowl, toss together the sliced onion, grated apple, and reserved sliced cabbage.
- Pour one-third of the tomato sauce into a large Dutch oven or large ovenproof sauté pan with a lid. Cover with half of the apple/cabbage mixture and half of the cabbage rolls. Repeat with half the remaining apple/cabbage mixture and the rest of the cabbage rolls. Finish with a layer of the remaining tomato sauce and apple/cabbage mixture. Cover with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit snugly inside the pot and against the ingredients (or seal the top of the pot with aluminum foil). Cover with the lid and put the pot into the oven.
- Let the stuffed cabbage cook undisturbed for 3 hours. Taste the tomato sauce, which will be thin, and add more sugar, vinegar, salt, or cayenne pepper if needed. Test a cabbage roll to make sure that the rice is tender; if not, return the pot to the oven to cook until it is. The stuffed cabbage can be served immediately or cooled, refrigerated, and reheated later (the flavors seem to get better after an overnight rest). Leftover stuffed cabbage can be frozen packed into an airtight container.