Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Calling all cooks who love cabbage!

Stuffed cabbage rolls are amazing.  Although it takes a little bit of time to prep, the taste is well worth the wait.  These little wraps can be stuffed with beef, chicken, pork, lamb, or a combination for more flavor.  Try them.  You will agree.  These rolls are paleo-iffic!

Stuffed Cabbage

Ingredients

Stuffed Cabbage
1 Savoy Cabbage
1lb ground beef
2 eggs
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste


Sauce
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
32 ounces of tomato sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup brown sugar


To begin the stuffed cabbage, one must remove the core of the cabbage as much as possible.  Gently, take the whole leaves of the cabbage off.  Place a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil.  Also have a large bowl of ice water on the side.  Place at least 15 cabbage leaves in the boiling water for 1 -2 minutes.  Remove the leaves and place them into the ice water.  This is known as blanching.  The leaves should be flexible and appear to be bright green.  Take leaves out of the ice water and set them to the side to dry.

In a large bowl, mix the meat, eggs, shallot, garlic, salt and pepper.  Time for assembly!  Place a cabbage leaf in front of you when the stem side closest to you.  Using a giant cookie scoop, scoop the meat mixture onto the middle of the cabbage leaf.  Fold the sides in.  Working from the top edge, complete the roll.  Place the rolls stem side down into a 9x13 inch baking pan.  Continue to make the rolls, placing them in the pan until you are done.  At this time, you can place a cover on the pan and put the pan in the refrigerator until ready to cook.

For the sauce, start with heating the oil and sauté the onion and garlic on medium heat until the onion is translucent.  After, add the tomato sauce, lemon juice and brown sugar.  Bring the tomato sauce to a boil.  Then, let it simmer for 10 minutes.

When you are ready to cook the stuffed cabbage, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Add the tomato sauce, covering the cabbage rolls.  Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake the rolls for 2 hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.

Enjoy!

Why Paleo?

Paleo is often referred to as the "cave man" diet.  For me, this is not a diet.  Rather, it is a change of lifestyle that I am beginning to embrace.  With the seasons changing and the weather improving, I am looking forward to the upcoming months of planting, growing and harvesting.  Over the years, I have developed more of a green thumb.  This is where the "farm fresh" component comes into play.  So now, without further ado, I give you Farm Fresh Paleo.