Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

Tick each one off as you go.

• 1 large white or green cabbage (about 1.5 kg)
• 1 ¾ lb (750 g) ground beef (or half beef, half pork)
• ½ cup (100 g) long-grain white rice, parboiled 8 minutes and drained
• 1 large onion, finely chopped and softened in 30 g butter, plus 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 egg, plus 1½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, 1 tsp sweet paprika and 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 800 g chopped tomatoes (2 tins) and 2 tbsp tomato paste, for the sauce
• 1 cup (250 ml) beef stock (or the cabbage cooking water)
• 3 tbsp soft light brown sugar, 3 tbsp cider vinegar and 2 bay leaves

Method

1. Soften the cabbage. Cut the core from the cabbage and lower the whole head into a large pot of salted boiling water. As the outer leaves relax, peel them away with tongs — 2–3 minutes each — until you have 12 good leaves plus spares. (Or freeze the cored head 24 hours ahead and thaw — no boiling needed.)
2. Shave the ribs. Lay each leaf rib-side up and shave the thick center rib flat with a small knife, so the leaf rolls without cracking.
3. Make the filling. Boil the rice 8 minutes and drain; soften the onion in the butter with the garlic. Mix gently with the ground beef, egg, salt, pepper, paprika & marjoram — don't overwork it.
4. Stir the sauce. Whisk the tomatoes, purée, stock, sugar & vinegar with a pinch of salt. Taste — it should be gently sweet with a clear sharp edge.
5. Roll. Put about 90 g of filling near the stem end of each leaf, fold the stem end over, tuck in the sides & roll into a snug parcel. Lay seam-down, shoulder to shoulder, in a dish lined with the spare leaves.
6. Bake low and slow. Pour the sauce over, tuck in the bay leaves, cover tightly with foil and bake at 325°F (170°C, fan 150°C) for 1¾–2 hours, until a knife slips through a roll with no resistance.
7. Rest. Give them 15 minutes out of the oven, then serve with the sauce spooned over — and sour cream, if your family did.