Chef Monsta: I cook, therefore I blog

I have been harassing my grandmother over the years to share her recipe for her amazing stuffed cabbage, that traveled cross-continentally and through the decades, from Sosnowiec, Poland (see this old stuffed cabbage recipe for proof). It finally took over a decade for my sister’s wedding to get the goods. As a gift at my sister’s bridal shower over the summer, we presented her with a cookbook filled with recipes from families and friends (printed with Tastebook, and amazing website). Grandma sat down on the phone with me to patiently list all the steps of the time consuming recipe for [online and print] documentation. Here, her secrets are revealed below….pictures are to follow.

Ingredients:

1 large head of green cabbage
Toothpicks
Stuffing
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground veal
1 C uncooked white rice
1 C finely chopped onion
3 eggs, beaten
4C water
garlic powder
salt
pepper

Sauce:

4 cans plain tomato sauce (Hunt’s)
2 large onions, diced
1 C white sugar
2 C water

Fill a medium pot with water. Cook the head of cabbage for ½ hour on medium flame. Take cabbage out, cool. Separate the leaves.

Cook white rice according to directions in another pot. Add salt.

In a large bowl, mix beef, veal, salt, pepper, garlic powder, 3 eggs, and 3 tbsp sugar. Mix with your hands.

Add cooked rice to meat mixture. Set aside.

Take the separated cabbage leaves. Spoon 1 large spoon of the meat-rice mixture, roll very tightly along the spine, and close both sides by tucking them in with your fingers and piercing them with toothpicks.

In a large pot, heat oil. Saute 2 large onions (diced) until lightly browned. Once the onion is browned, place cabbage rolls in pot. Cover rolls with 2 cups of water and 4 cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce. Add more sugar, pepper, garlic powder.

Cook for 1.5-2 hours on a low flame. If water dissolves, keep adding water throughout the process.