Cabbage rolls (classic or lazy) are usually served with sauce. It is he who to a greater extent affects the taste of the finished dish. Stuffed cabbage sauce can be made separately or put out pre-formed workpieces in it. This aromatic liquid mixture can be different: tomato, mushroom, sour cream and even cheese. Everything will depend on the availability of the necessary components and taste preferences of the cook.
Vegetable sauce
The simplest and at the same time very tasty sauce for stuffed cabbage can be made from vegetables. Tomatoes are used as the basis for it. All other ingredients give the mixture the desired consistency and unique flavor. Before starting work, care must be taken to ensure that the following ingredients are available:
- 1 liter can of tomatoes in its own juice;
- 1 carrot;
- salt;
- ½ pod of bell pepper;
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger root;
- 1 onion;
- a pinch of nutmeg (grated);
- 1 clove of garlic;
- some pepper and vegetable oil;
- greens (dill).
To prepare such a fill is better in a pan. To do this, you must:
- Diced peeled onions and garlic. Grind carrots on a coarse grater.
- Heat oil well in a pan.
- Sauté the onion and garlic in it, then add the carrots and continue processing until the vegetables are soft enough.
- Introduce grated ginger. He will give the necessary piquancy to the sauce.
- Put tomatoes in a pan and mix. It is necessary to wait until some of the liquid has evaporated.
- Enter the remaining components. Warm everything together for 60 seconds and remove from heat. The last to fill in chopped dill and mix.
- Grind the resulting mass in a blender.
Such a sauce can be served immediately with ready-made cabbage rolls. It is sometimes prepared in advance. By the way, such a mass can be well stored in the refrigerator for at least a week.
Mayonnaise Sauce
Mayonnaise is a great addition not only to any salad. On its basis, you can also make an excellent sauce for cabbage rolls. To do it is not at all difficult. And for work you need only 5 main components:
- 300 g of fresh tomatoes;
- salt;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 100 g of any mayonnaise;
- half sweet pepper.
The sauce preparation process will consist of two stages:
- Wash vegetables thoroughly, and then grind in a meat grinder. Grind and peeled garlic with them. Get a mass that is very similar to home adjika. If there is no meat grinder in the house, then you can use a blender.
- Add mayonnaise and mix thoroughly. This component will make the sauce more tender. In addition, a specific flavor of mayonnaise itself will be added to the overall aroma.
To prepare such a sauce takes no more than ten minutes. Therefore, doing it in advance is not necessary.
Milk Sauce with Cheese
Fans of original flavors will definitely like cheese sauce for stuffed cabbage. It is better to cook it in a pan with thick walls or a saucepan. To prepare such a mixture, not quite ordinary components will be needed:
- 400 ml of milk;
- 40-50 g of flour;
- 2 g mustard powder;
- ½ teaspoon of sweet and sour Worcester sauce;
- 100 g butter;
- 80 g of hard cheese.
In this case, the process will be slightly different:
- First you need to melt the butter in a saucepan.
- Add flour. Fry it in oil for two minutes.
- Pour in a thin stream of milk. In this case, the mass must be constantly stirred so that it does not gather in lumps.
- Pour mustard and gently enter Worcester sauce. After that, the mixture must be tasted. If necessary, it can be slightly salted.
- In conclusion, it remains only to add the grated cheese and once again mix everything well.
This sauce is preferably served hot. Due to the presence of cheese during cooling, it will quickly thicken.
Classic tomato sauce
Most often, housewives make a sauce for stuffed cabbage from tomato paste. This classic version captivates with its simplicity. In addition, products that can almost always be found in any kitchen are used for work:
- 240 milliliters of water;
- 150 grams of sugar;
- 120 grams of tomato paste;
- a quarter of a teaspoon of ground cloves and as much cinnamon;
- 2-3 grams of black pepper;
- 10 grams of salt.
The technology for making such a sauce is extremely simple:
- First, you need to boil water separately. While the kettle is heating, you can prepare the remaining components.
- Put a measured amount of paste in a bowl.
- Add all other ingredients according to the recipe.
- Mix well. To do this in hot water is not difficult.
This sauce has a rather pleasant aroma. By the way, this is a universal mixture. It can be used not only for stuffed cabbage. Macaroni, buckwheat or boiled rice will also be good with this sauce. In addition, it is ideal as a quench fill.
Sauce for lazy cabbage rolls
Anyone who does not like to mess with wrapping minced meat in cabbage leaves can cook the so-called lazy cabbage rolls. These are, in fact, the same cutlets, which include all the main components of cabbage rolls. After molding, they are placed on a baking sheet, and then baked in the oven.
Stuffed cabbage sauce is prepared separately. Then it is added to the patties, and then the products are stewed together until cooked. Typically, tomato-sour cream sauce is used for this option. It is made from the following products:
- 150 g low-fat sour cream;
- salt;
- 30 g of flour;
- 2 tablespoons of ketchup (or ready-made tomato sauce);
- 250 ml of water;
- pepper and fresh herbs.
Cook this sauce right after the cabbage rolls are on a baking sheet:
- First, pour water into the pan.
- Then add all the other components in turn. Finely chopped greens with a sharp knife.
- Stir the mixture well and slowly bring to a boil.
After that, it will only remain ready, still hot sauce, pour the cabbage rolls and send the pan to the oven.
Sour cream sauce
People who have problems with the stomach may sometimes be contraindicated with acute ketchup or tomatoes in general. In this case, you can make a gentle sauce for cabbage rolls from sour cream. To taste, it is no worse than tomato. To prepare it, the simplest products are required:
- 1 cup of broth (vegetable or meat);
- 50 g butter;
- 250 grams of sour cream;
- salt;
- 60 g of flour;
- pepper.
This sauce is prepared as follows:
- Melt the butter in a pan.
- Pour flour to it and fry it until golden brown. The fire should be small.
- Constantly stirring with a spoon, gradually introduce the broth into a thin stream. It is necessary to ensure that no lumps appear.
- Once the mass boils, it needs to be cooked on low heat for about 10 minutes.
- Add sour cream and darken the products together for another 5 minutes, no more.
The sauce is ready! Now it can be served in a separate bowl to the table or used for further stewing of the main product (stuffed cabbage).
Cooking in a slow cooker
Those who have modern kitchen appliances in their home will be interested to learn how to make sauce for stuffed cabbage in a slow cooker. This method is not quite ordinary. But the ingredients for it require the simplest:
- 250 ml of water;
- salt;
- 1 onion;
- vegetable oil;
- 30 g of tomato paste;
- ground pepper;
- 1 tomato;
- any spices.
Preparing the sauce for cabbage rolls:
- Peeled onions should be cut into half rings.
- Do the same with a well-washed tomato.
- Pour oil into a multicooker bowl.
- Set the frying mode on the panel.
- Pour onion into the bowl and sauté it until golden.
- Add tomatoes and mix.
- Separate the paste separately with water. After that, you need to salt it and add the selected spices.
- Pour the tomato mixture into a slow cooker.
- Add a glass of water there and cook for 40 minutes in the “stew” mode.
The sauce is tender, moderately spicy and very tasty. And cabbage rolls, sprinkled with such a fragrant mixture, will not leave anyone indifferent.
Carrot sauce
To make ordinary (or lazy) cabbage rolls really tasty, it is better to put out in a special sauce. Moreover, by consistency, it should be quite liquid. Indeed, during boiling, part of the moisture evaporates. If the mass is too thick, then add it should be at the very end of the quenching. Otherwise, cabbage rolls may burn.
Fans of unusual tastes can try making carrot sauce to stew stuffed cabbage. In this case, you will need:
- 100 g of onions;
- 10 g of tomato paste;
- 300 g carrots;
- ½ cup vegetable broth;
- vegetable oil.
Such a sauce is prepared in three stages:
- First, peeled onions and carrots must be chopped.
- Lightly fry them in vegetable oil. The first to put onions in the pan. Once it is browned, you can add carrots.
- Introduce the paste and pour the broth over everything. Food should boil for about a quarter of an hour.
After that, pour the cabbage rolls with a still hot mixture and simmer them until tender.