Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls (lemon and garlic sauce)
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Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls (lemon and garlic sauce)

By April 27, 2018

Traditionally, Stuffed cabbage rolls are made with a meat filling and made throughout the Middle East and Europe. My family tends to favor vegetarian stuffing with a lemon and garlic sauce. Of course, when I make this I make both the lemon garlic pot and the more traditional one with a homemade tomato sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup of white rice rinsed
  • 1 cup parsley minced
  • 1 large onion minced
  • 1 Jalapeno pepper (remove seeds) minced
  • 4 gloves of garlic minced
  • ½ cup of finely diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp dried mint
  • 1 tsp ground Paprika
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 tsp of all spice
  • STOCK/SAUCE
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 cups of water
  • 3/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp. of extra olive oil
  • 8-10 cloves of peeled garlic

Instructions

 

 

  1. Remove all torn or ragged outer leaves from the cabbage (2-3 leaves). Carefully, using a paring knife cut at an angle around the core and remove as much of it as you can. Fill a large deep pot with enough water to cover a cabbage and bring it to a boil. Put the cabbage core-end up into the boiling water and cook until the leaves soften and begin to come free of the cabbage; Use a pair of thongs or a fork but be careful not to tear leaves. Do not overcook. The leaves should be crisp still, but pliable. Remove each leaf and place in strainer and repeat until all the larger pieces are done, let them cool while prepping the filling. When all the leaves are cool enough to handle, slice off the top of the large vein on each leaf, or cut it out completely. Slice especially large leaves in half.

  1. Divide the vein trimmings in half. Layer some on the bottom of your pot, before placing the rolled cabbage on top, and the remaining on top before adding the stock. They are delicious when cooked in lemon stock.
  2. Filling: In a bowl, place rinsed rice, parsley, onion, garlic, tomatoes, black pepper, mint, paprika, salt, and all spice and combine together.
  3. Place a cabbage leaf on a work surface with the wide side facing you and the sliced-out center (where the vein used to be) vertical and bring together the split sides of the leaf and overlap.
  4. Spread 1 to 2 table spoons of stuffing along the edge of the leaf, then roll it slowly and tightly over the filling all the way to resemble a cigar.
  5. When you finish rolling each leaf, place them seam side down, in a single compact layer in the prepared pot. You may end up with 2 to 4 layers of rolls, depending on how wide the cooking pot is.

  1. TO MAKE THE STOCK: In a frying pan, sauté cloves of garlic (thinly slices or minced) with 3 table spoons of olive oil until they start to turn light brown and pour the entire content on top of the cooking pot. In a bowl, add lemon juice, 4 cups of water, and ½ to 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste), then carefully add them to the cooking pot. The sauce/stock should cover the rolls and if not, add more water until it does.
  2. Place a heavy plate inside the pot, on top of the rolls, cover the pot, and turn on the stove on high heat for about 5-10 minutes until they boil, at which time you turn heat to very low and let them simmer slowly for 1 to 1.5 hours (until the cabbage is fully cooked and is no longer crunchy - time may vary, however you should be left with a bit of sauce on the bottom don't let it dry up).
  3. Remove from heat and rest for 15-20 minutes before serving. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, if desired, alongside tabbouleh or a tossed salad. Enjoy!

 

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