Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls

In a recent post, I wrote about our side dishes that needed more pizzazz, one of which was fried cabbage, and Bev did a magnificent job of fixing it.  I’ve often said that I am a recipe follower but she is the real cook in the family.  My plan was to just reheat the cabbage as a leftover but her plan was to turn it into something very different.

Without naming it, she began by mixing 1/4 head of chopped raw cabbage and a cup of good Mennonite homemade kraut with the leftover fried cabbage and onions (about 2 cups).  Then she made some meatballs adapting the recipe from All Recipes  and nestled them down into the cabbage.  Then she topped it all with 25 oz. Bertolli Marinara Sauce and cooked it in the microwave for about 20 minutes – until the meatballs were at 160F.  For this dish she only made half of the meatball recipe shown below and did not pre-cook them - surprisingly no grease on top of the dish.  The original recipe can be found be clicking on the above link.

The Best Meatballs - Adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

2 lb. ground round (see note 1)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs

1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

1½ T. chopped Italian flat leaf parsley

1 ½ T. fresh chopped oregano

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 c. Panko Italian breadcrumbs

1½ c. lukewarm water

Note: If meatballs will be fried or baked, substitute ½ lb. pork or Italian Sausage for ½ lb. beef.

Directions:

1. Combine beef, garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper.

2. Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. 

3. Slowly add the water 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should be very moist but still hold its shape if rolled into meatballs. (I usually use about 1 1/4 cups of water). Shape into meatballs.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Fry meatballs in batches. When the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel. (If your mixture is too wet, cover the meatballs while they are cooking so that they hold their shape better.)  Bev did not fry them.

The Verdict:

While she didn't set out to make deconstructed cabbage rolls, this dish was absolutely delicious and hopefully we can replicate it by using fried cabbage and onions as a starting point and it can be a one-pot meal by cooking it in an oven safe pan such as a saute pan.  Isn't it great that she invented such a great meal.  The meatballs were also easy to make and Bev said this would be her go-to recipe from now on and she plans to never again make cabbage rolls.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

06/05/22 event date