Stuffed Cabbage Bomb Filled With Ground Beef And Rice

Surely you've had cabbage before, but instead of eating it the same old way, why not try freezing it, stuffing it, and eating it whole? Yep, you heard us! They say a watched pot never boils, but thanks to this genius food hack, you'll never have to worry about that again. Just throw a whole head of cabbage in the freezer and then let it thaw in the fridge – the process will soften the cabbage leaves so that you can coat each layer with a delicious ground beef and rice mixture before putting the whole thing back together again. And skipping the boiling step means you get to enjoy this delicious meal even faster! Boiled cabbage? We don't know her.

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Difficulty Level: Easy

You'll Need:

For the stuffed cabbage bomb:

• 1 head of white cabbage
• 4 lbs ground beef (or 2 lbs ground beef + 2 lbs ground pork)
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 2 onions, diced 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp cumin 
• 1 tbsp marjoram
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp pepper

For the sauce:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped 
• ½ leek, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp sugar
• ¾ cup red wine
• 3⅓ cups broth

Here's How:

1. Remove the outer leaves from the head of cabbage and place the whole cabbage in the freezer. After 2 days, transfer the head of cabbage to the fridge and let it thaw, preferably overnight. Once thawed, gently unfold the softened cabbage leaves, leaving them attached to the intact core.

2. For the ground beef filling, combine the ground beef, cooked rice, diced onions, minced garlic, and eggs and season with cumin, marjoram, salt, and pepper.

3. Starting with the innermost leaves, coat each cabbage leaf with a thin layer of the ground beef filling and push the coated cabbage leaf against the core in the center. Continue coating the cabbage leaves and folding them back up, working from the inside out.

4. For the sauce, heat some olive oil over medium heat in an oven-proof skillet and sauté the chopped vegetables. Add the tomato paste and sugar and cook everything together briefly. Pour in the red wine and let it reduce by about half. Add the broth and let the sauce come to a boil.

5. Place the stuffed cabbage head in the skillet with the sauce, transfer the skillet to a preheated oven, and cook at 325°F for 1 hour.

Once it comes steaming out of the oven, go ahead and place the magnificent stuffed cabbage bomb in the center of the dinner table, because this showstopping dish is ready to be the star of your next family meal!

Get the recipe for the Omelet-Stuffed Cabbage featured in the bonus video.