Stuffed Savoy Cabbage

To prepare a delicious stuffed cabbage, start by choosing a medium-sized cabbage, which should be thoroughly washed under a stream of cold water. After draining well, use a sharp knife to hollow out the core of the cabbage, being careful to leave a margin of about 2 cm thickness. The outer leaves of the cabbage are removed, but one of them, the prettiest, is kept to cover the filling.

In a pan, add the oil and finely chopped onion, which is sautéed for two to three minutes until it becomes translucent. Then, add the chopped cabbage resulting from hollowing out the cabbage, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and your favorite spices. Mix everything well with a wooden spoon, crushing the meat to get it into smaller pieces. Once you finish cooking the meat, let it cool enough so you can work with the filling without burning yourself.

After the filling has cooled, take the cabbage and, using a spoon, start filling the hollowed-out part, making sure to pack it tightly. The cabbage leaf kept earlier is placed on top of the filling to prevent the meat from escaping during boiling. Then, take a piece of cheesecloth and place the cabbage in it, tying the corners above the cabbage leaf that covers the filling.

For cooking, place the cabbage in a tall pot, covering it with water and adding a little salt to allow the cabbage to absorb salt to taste. Let it simmer on low heat, considering that the meat is already cooked, so the cooking time for the cabbage will not be too long. To keep the cabbage submerged in the water, stick a long-tined fork into the cheesecloth so that the cabbage remains submerged.

If you want a slightly sour cabbage, you can add a little broth to the boiling water. When serving, you can prepare a dill or tomato sauce, adding sour cream to taste. Another option for stuffing the cabbage is to use a rarer cabbage that does not have large stems. This is washed and boiled in salted water until it is half-cooked, then drained. After it has cooled, carefully remove the leaves, keeping the heart of the cabbage intact.

For filling the cabbage, prepare the filling similarly to the one mentioned earlier, with the option of adding half-cooked rice. Place a leaf on the heart of the cabbage, and between this and the heart, introduce a little filling. Proceed the same way with other leaves, thus reconstructing the cabbage in its original shape but with the added filling. Tie the reconstructed cabbage in a cheesecloth and put it to boil, serving it with sour cream and your favorite sauce. This stuffed cabbage recipe is not only delicious but also a true delight for the taste buds!