In our time, cabbage rolls are a common and beloved dish that is prepared both as a hearty daily meal and as a festive treat. The complexity of cooking cabbage rolls is average. But one who has mastered all the subtleties of the process, may well be proud of himself and consider himself a good chef.
Well, those who have not yet managed to surprise their relatives with a fragrant dish with rosy gravy will find in our article several recipes and many tips on how to cook cabbage with minced meat.
A bit of history
Surely everyone who is in love with cooking is interested not only in the technology of preparing various dishes, but also in their history. The history of cabbage rolls is really fascinating and very interesting.
True, when and where it began, no one knows for sure. Today we are accustomed to consider that it is a dish to our relatives. And abroad, in the menu of restaurants and in collections of recipes of Russian cuisine, you can meet the word Golubtsy, which means that foreigners also consider Russian food.
But in fact, mentions of cabbage leaves with pork are found in the works of Aristophanes (425 g. BC. E.). It turns out that ancient Greece can claim the title of the homeland of this dish.
True, ancient China is ready to challenge this assumption. Indeed, for more than 2 thousand years there has been a legend about the sage’s disciples who wrapped rice in cabbage in order to save the teacher who fell into the water from predatory fish. While the rest were feeding the underwater animals, one young man decided to try the cabbage bundle and was very pleased with the result. By the way, this legend reminds us that our cabbage rolls and oriental rolls are almost relatives.
The dish is well known to the Turks. But they used grape leaves and lamb for its preparation. The recipe quickly spread throughout the Muslim countries of Asia, and later went to Europe, where the cooks modified it a little, replacing some of the components with more familiar ones.
In Russia, back in pre-Petrine times, galushi was prepared. The minced meat and wheat cereal filling was wrapped in cabbage leaves. A little later, a new dish came from France - baked pigeon carcasses on a wire rack. It was called pigeons. And ordinary people made a semblance of this dish of haute cuisine, forming lumps commensurate with the carcasses from pieces of meat, cereals and cabbage leaves. In those days, the word "cabbage rolls" began to spread. By the way, Dahl’s dictionary states that “galushi” and “cabbage rolls” are synonymous names.
Be that as it may, today this dish is kindly dear to every gourmet. A variety of recipes can not but rejoice.
Product selection
First, try to cook lazy cabbage rolls with minced meat, cabbage, rice and gravy. We will need one large or a couple of small strong forks of cabbage, on which there are no spots and damage.
To get a rich taste, prefer pork and ground beef. Chicken or turkey are laid in the filling for those who prefer a delicate texture.
For the dish, long-grain or round rice is suitable, you can use a chop. Many recipes for cabbage rolls are regulated by other cereals: millet, wheat, buckwheat.
In this dish, gravy is also important. For her, you should choose fragrant onions and strong juicy carrots.
Experienced housewives can not use weights and even a measuring cup to measure the right amount of products, everything is taken "by eye". But if you are making cabbage rolls for the first time, stick to the following proportions:
- cabbage - 2 medium heads of cabbage;
- minced meat - 1 kg;
- rice - 1 tbsp .;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- carrots (optional) - 1 pc.;
- spices and salt.
To cook lazy cabbage rolls with cabbage, approximately the same set of products is used. And how to make gravy, we will figure it out a little later.
Preparation of minced meat and cereal base for stuffed cabbage
Before cooking cabbage rolls, the rice is washed with water, and then boiled until cooked, not allowing to be digested. Try to evaporate all excess liquid, but if this does not work, fold the rice onto a sieve and let the liquid drain. Wait for the rice to cool.
Raw minced grated onions are added to the minced meat, but some housewives prefer to finely chop it and fry in oil until golden. Together with onions, you can stew and diced carrots.
Thoroughly mix the minced meat, vegetables and rice, salt and pepper. To check if there is enough salt and seasoning, you can fry one small patty and try it.
Blanching and pruning cabbage
To cook cabbage rolls, cut a stalk from a cabbage with a sharp knife. Carefully remove the leaves one at a time. At this time, put a large pot of water on the fire to boil.
Before wrapping the leaves must be blanched in boiling water, otherwise they will be fragile. Put them several in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in a colander to allow excess glass water.
Too thick veins at the base of the leaves cut with a sharp knife, otherwise they will crack. Vegetable broth in which the leaves were blanched, do not pour, it is useful for stewing.
Product Formation
It is most convenient to use leaves the size of a small plate. In this case, you will need approximately a full tablespoon of minced meat for each cabbage roll. Lay it on the edge, and then tightly wrap it in cabbage, as if packing a gift. Squeeze the finished envelope between the palms, compact it, giving shape.
Let the cabbage rolls slightly wind off so that excess moisture does not get into the hot oil (this can cause splashes, which is extremely unpleasant).
Tomato Gravy
For stuffed cabbage usually cook frying from vegetables and tomato or tomato paste. To do this, finely chop 2 onions and one large carrot. Fry vegetables in olive or vegetable oil, and then add 250 ml of tomato or a few tablespoons of tomato paste dissolved in a glass of cabbage stock left from blanching to them.
If you cook stuffed cabbage with minced meat in such gravy, they will be fragrant and beautiful.
Roasting and stewing
We proceed to the next stage. To cook cabbage rolls, heat vegetable oil in a pan. Put cabbage bundles in hot fat, but do not try to fill them with the whole space. There should be a small distance between the cabbage rolls.
Experienced housewives recommend spreading cabbage rolls on the side on which the edge of the cabbage leaf is located. In this case, it will be convenient to turn them over; they will not open.
Roast over medium heat. The first side will be browned in a couple of minutes, so it's time to turn over. Wait until the reverse side is browned, and then remove the stuffed cabbage from the pan, add oil if necessary and load the next batch.
Put the fried envelopes into a stewpan, a pan with a thick bottom or a cauldron. Pour tomato sauce over each layer of cabbage rolls, trying to get the onions and carrots too. Folding should also be done with the open edge down so that during smoothing your flat convolutions do not lose their shape. After filling the whole pan with lightly fried cabbage rolls, pour in the rest of the gravy, cover with a lid and put it on a small fire for about an hour.
It is important to monitor the intensity of the boil. If your brew is seething too actively, cabbage rolls will swell and fall apart. During cooking, add vegetable broth or boiling water so that all the bundles are covered with liquid.
At this stage, you can add bay leaf, peppercorns, suneli hops, dried garlic, turmeric and other favorite seasonings to the pan.
Baking in the oven
There is another way to cook cabbage rolls without much hassle. For this, preliminary frying is not required. Just fold the cabbage bundles onto the deco, into a ceramic pot or other refractory dish and pour over the gravy. Send to bake in a hot oven for at least half an hour. At the very end of cooking, you can decorate the cabbage rolls with a cheese cap and lightly brown it in the oven for a couple of minutes.
Lazy cabbage rolls
If you want to learn how to cook lazy cabbage rolls, and think that this recipe will save a lot of time and labor, then you will find a discovery. For example, one cannot draw an analogy with lazy dumplings, for the preparation of which you only need to mix the components, knead the dough and cut it into pieces. Let's just say that to cook lazy cabbage rolls with minced meat and cabbage, you have to tinker.
But this dish is beautiful in its own way, and its taste is much richer than that of ordinary meatballs. Save time will help unless using ready-made stuffing.
Products are taken in approximately the following quantities: for a pound of minced meat, you need 1.5 cups of boiled rice and a full half-liter can of finely chopped white cabbage.
To get a delicate texture, pour cabbage with boiling water and cook for about five minutes. Then fold it onto a sieve, let cool and carefully squeeze out all the water with your hands.
Stir the ingredients, beat the raw egg into the minced meat, add salt and season. You can cook lazy cabbage rolls using any of the above methods. Form even, identical pieces the size of a chicken egg with your hands dipped in vegetable oil. So they will not stick to the pan or pan during the heat treatment.
Cabbage rolls with Beijing and Savoy cabbage
Few people know, but these exotic vegetables can also be used to make cabbage rolls. The recipes are generally identical, but there are some tricks.
When choosing Beijing cabbage, give preference to large light heads. Small leaves from the middle will not be useful to us (but you can make a salad from them). Blanch at least five minutes.
According to many culinary experts, it is even easier to form cabbage rolls from thin oblong leaves of Chinese cabbage than from ordinary cabbage. The taste of the dish is simply magnificent, it is much more expressive.
Savoy cabbage is a rather expensive vegetable, therefore, as a rule, it is used for the holiday menu. Cabbage rolls are bright, fragrant and slightly crispy.
In both cases, the cooking technology is identical to that discussed above. These varieties of cabbage are also suitable for cooking lazy cabbage rolls.
In grape leaves
You can cook cabbage rolls with minced meat and rice in grape leaves. This dish, which is called dolma in Central Asia and the countries of the Middle East, is usually called grape cabbage in our country. This is a great solution for late spring and early summer, when grape leaves are already filled with aromas and vitamins, but have not yet lost their tenderness. In other seasons, canned leaves can be used.
You can make the usual stuffing of minced meat and rice for such stuffed cabbage. And you can add a little ground walnuts to it, as is done in Georgia.
The leaves are washed, poured with boiling water, on each stack a dessert spoon of the filling. The size of the products will be small - a little more than a finger. Stuffed cabbage can immediately be put in a large cauldron, it is not necessary to fry them. During stewing, it is necessary to monitor the liquid level and add tomato juice or broth.
Such a treat is served both as an independent dish, and as an appetizer to the side dish and meat delicacies on the festive table.
Vegetarian recipe
Do you know how to make delicious cabbage rolls during church Lent? To do this, just replace the minced meat with mushroom. The vegetarian will also be pleased with such a treat.
If you use wild mushrooms, boil them for half an hour and drain the broth. Twist in a meat grinder, and then fry the mushroom stuffing with onions. Add rice and form cabbage rolls.
Do not add any fats of animal origin during stewing and baking, then you will definitely get a wonderful vegetarian lean dish, which tastes just as good as meat analogues. And in order not to drown out the delicate aroma of mushrooms, do not season the dishes with too spicy spices. A small amount of allspice is enough.
Sour Cream Sauce
To stuffed cabbage it is customary to serve sour cream. Perfect home, separator or pitcher. Some housewives suggest mixing sour cream with an equal amount of mayonnaise, add a couple of garlic cloves, passed through a press, and a little young dill. It is advisable to cook such a sauce about 15 minutes before serving, so that it is properly saturated with aromas.
Serving to the table
Stuffed cabbage is customarily served hot to the festive table. For everyday cuisine it is quite acceptable not to heat up this food. Many, by the way, prefer the chilled version.
Stuffed cabbage laid on a plate is watered with gravy in which they were cooked. Sour cream on plates should not be placed; it is better to set several sauce-boats on the table so that guests can add it at their discretion.
This dish can be served as an appetizer for strong alcohol, but if the holiday format does not include strong drinks, offer guests tomato juice, mineral water or cranberry juice. Homemade pickles go well with cabbage rolls. Fresh greens will not hurt.