Stuffed Cabbage (Hungarian) Töltött Kápozta This classic dish of meat, rice and vegetables is an example of a dish that has been adapted by many cultures over hundreds of years. Food historians believe that the original recipe was perfected by the ancient Turks who incorporated ground lamb and rice with currants and pine nuts, then wrapped the mixture in cabbage leaves. Through the centuries, variations of this recipe evolved until each Eastern and Central European country claimed its own version. When these Europeans migrated to the New World in the late nineteenth century, they brought their favorite stuffed cabbage recipes with them. Here is a Hungarian version. Stuffed Cabbage (aka cabbage rolls) 1 very large head cabbage, smooth, round, or 2 regular sized heads Filling: 3/4 pounds ground beef* 3/4 pounds ground pork* 1 cup uncooked long grain rice 1 cup finely chopped onion (about half a large onion, chopped) 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon thyme 1/4 teaspoon marjoram (or none at all - down from 1 tsp, way too much) 1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 "ice cubes" of frozen chopped garlic, thawed) 2 15 oz. cans sauerkraut, drained 2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce (can use part tomato juice ..) 3/4 - 1 pound smoked meat, diced (kielbasa sausage works well) NOTE: consider monkeying with the meatball recipe some. The meatballs can be very dense, even hard to cut with a knife. Maybe add some crumbs/egg yolk/ketchup, like meatloaf? Sauce 3 tablespoons butter, lard or solid vegetable shortening 3 tablespoons flour 1 cup cold water 1 cup broth from cooking pot 1 cup yogurt Use a 10 quart stock pot and fill about halfway with hot water. Bring to a boil. In a large bowl, mix the meat, rice, onion, salt, pepper, garlic, thyme and marjoram thoroughly. Set a bowl next to the stovetop and put a colander on it so the cabbage leaves can drain into the bowl as they are removed. Remove the outer leaf or leaves if they aren't fresh-looking, clean and perfect. Insert a chef's fork into the cabbage core so it can be picked up by the fork and won't fall off. Set the cabbage in the boiling water and hold it under until you see a leaf beginning to separate. Then take a sharp thin knife and cut the leaf away from the core, and set it into the colander to drain, and move on to the next leaf. When you have removed most of the large leaves, pull out the entire remaining head and set it into the colander core side down to drain. Remove the leaves from the other cabbage the same way (if using 2). Retain 4 cups of the pot liquid and discard the rest. Core what remains of the 2 heads, and chop coarsely. Drain the sauerkraut in a colander in the sink, squeezing to remove most of the liquid. To make each cabbage roll, choose a leaf. Take a sharp thin knife and thin the main vein on each leaf, which will make it much easier to roll up. If the leaf is very large, cut it in half down the main vein. Place 2 small scoops of the meat mixture on the wide end of each leaf. Roll up, tucking in the sides. With the seam side down, place in the pot. While you can prepare stuffed cabbage in a crock pot or a No. 12 Dutch oven, the best way to avoid overflow messes is to use a 4" deep hotel pan. If using the Dutch oven, start with a layer of chopped cabbage at the bottom so the rolls don't stick. Place the rolls in a layer. Cover with chopped cabbage leaves and sauerkraut. Add another layer if needed, adding chopped cabbage and sauerkraut to flatten. If there is some meat mixture left over, make small meatballs and tuck them in the pot. If there are extra cabbage leaves left over, chop them and add them to the pot. Add the 4 cups of cabbage water; pour tomato over all, distributing evenly. Place smoked meat on top. (if using 4" hotel pan) Foil pan and bake in 350° oven for 2 hours. 20 minutes before it's done, remove the pan, and (carefully, avoid steam burns!) pull back the foil, tilt the pan up and dip out juice using a ladle, totalling a cup of liquid for the sauce. Then replace the foil and put back in the oven. (if using crock pot) Cover, and cook in the crock pot for 7-8 hours. (if using Dutch oven) Cover; cook on medium high for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1-1/2 hours. To prepare sauce: cook roux as usual until light brown. Add the cold water and broth and whisk until smooth. Bring to a gentle boil and cook 10 minutes until the sauce thickens. Cool sauce a few minutes and mix with the yogurt. Either pour mixture over cabbage rolls, making sure the sauce descends below the top layer of rolls, then cover and simmer 10 minutes; or serve the sauce on the side. Makes 15-18 rolls *NOTES: If you are grinding your own meats, cut the meat into chunks first and lightly freeze them. No spatter! A small ice cream scoop is good for measuring out the meat - 2 scoops is just about the right amount, and gives each leaf the same amount. I tried to do a casserole-style. Big head of lettuce; took off absolutely as many leaves as I could and chopped the rest. I cut the whole leaves into bite- sized pieces. I used the white casserole. Bottom layer was chopped cabbage (from the core). Then I broke up little pieces of the meat mixture to do another layer followed by a layer of cabbage pieces repeated until the meat and cabbage were gone. Then a layer of sauerkraut, then sausage slices, then tomato sauce. At that point the mixture was nearly overflowing the pan and I still hadn't added the 4 cups of water. I poked a spoon handle in the middle and made a hole down to the bottom of the pan and poured the water in there. It didn't overflow the pan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hungarian Cabbage Casserole (Casserole version of Cabbage Rolls) This recipe fills the big white covered casserole dish a little too full; consider cutting back or eliminating the diced sausage, and using a smaller head of cabbage Mix well in very large bowl: (Note: never use more meat or casserole will overflow) 1.5 pounds ground meat (mixture of beef or turkey plus pork, or pork breakfast sausage) 3/4 pound diced smoked meat (kielbasa sausage works well) 3-4 cups cooked rice (or 1 cup uncooked) 1 cup finely chopped onion 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon thyme 1/4 teaspoon marjoram (optional) 1 tablespoon minced garlic Add and mix: 1 medium head cabbage, chopped in small pieces 30 oz. sauerkraut, drained 30 oz. tomato sauce 4 cups water if using uncooked rice; 2 cups water if using cooked rice Place in large covered casserole. Allow several inches of head room! Bake at 350° for 1-2 hours Serve with yogurt/sour cream mix or this yogurt white sauce: 4 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons flour 1 can chicken broth 1 cup yogurt