RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Karen Selwyn "Stuffed" Cabbage #2, Layered - meat
The sweet and sour flavoring of this recipe signal its Polish origins. This recipe is my friend Peggy's timesaving technique for making stuffed cabbage. The ingredients are layered rather than going to the effort of filling individual cabbage leaves. Peggy's original version included apple slices, but I took her time-saving impulse even further and substituted applesauce. Karen Selwyn * * * * * * Peggy's "Stuffed" Cabbage 2 lbs. ground beef 1 head cabbage, cored and leaves separated 2-3 onions, sliced thinly 2-3 slices bread 1 onion, grated or finely minced salt and pepper to taste 2 cloves crushed garlic 3 (8-ounce) cans plain tomato sauce 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 3-4 tablespoons cider vinegar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard 2-3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar 1/4 cup golden raisins Pour enough warm water over bread to moisten. When moist, crumble bread and combine with garlic, minced onion, salt and pepper, and meat. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine tomato sauce, applesauce, cider vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, brown sugar and raisins. Set aside. Lay layer of cabbage leaves on the bottom of a Dutch oven. Layer some sliced onions over top the cabbage leaves. Place some of the mixed sauce over onions. Place some of the meat over top the sauce. Spread some sauce over the meat layer. Repeat cabbage, onion, meat layers, interspersing sauce between layers. End layering procedure with cabbage and sauce. Bake at 325 degree oven for 3 hours. Notes: Don't worry about the appearance of the cabbage leaves as you remove them from the head of cabbage. You're not rolling stuffing so you don't need whole, beautiful leaves. Adjust the sauce ingredients to taste depending on your preference for piquant or sweet tasting stuffed cabbage. When you serve a portion, make certain you dig down deep to get all the layers of the recipe.
