Stuffed Cabbage

I’ve actually never made stuffed cabbage before, and I’ve probably only eaten it once or twice. Maybe since we’re such a stuffed peppers-loving household. But between a head of cabbage from the CSA and half a head of another cabbage from the publisher’s garden, something cabbage-y had to be done. And I had a ton of leftover brown rice in the fridge. So there we go!

I used a mix of Wilbur sausage and ground meat substitute, which actually helped bring down the calorie count. This was ridiculously easy to make, and a good make-ahead dish – we’re baking it now to have for lunch/dinner later in the week.

16 large leaves cabbage

8 oz ground Italian sausage

6 0z vegetarian meat crumbles (mine were Quorn-based)

1/2 onion, chopped

2 garlic scapes, minced

2.5 cups brown rice, cooked

3 cups homemade tomato sauce

1 egg, beaten

about 1 cup beef broth

2 scallions, chopped

cooking spray

salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch cabbage leaves, about 5 at a time, about 3 minutes each, removing from water after they’re cooked. Allow to cool on a plate.

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute onions and scapes in a skillet with cooking spray until soft.

Stir together sausage, beaten egg, meat substitute, scallions, egg, 1/2 cup beef broth, salt and pepper (to taste), sauteed onions and rice in a bowl.

Spoon a mound of mixture into each cabbage leaf and wrap up. Place seam side down in a large baking pan. Pour the other 1/2 cup of beef broth so it sits on the bottom of the pan. Top cabbage rolls with tomato sauce.

Cook about 1 hour or until sausage is cooked through.

Calories: About 220 for 2 cabbage bundles (serves 8).

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