Cabbage Roll Up

My mouth was watering as I read the recipe for the Onion Pie. It would be delicious using our very own Vidalia onions! I'm most definitely going to try the Corn and Shrimp Soup, too. I have a recipe for Confetti Soup which has a lot of the same ingredients but no shrimp. I may have to toss some seafood into the Confetti Soup to see what that would taste like. I'll share that recipe later since we already have one corn soup in County Cuisine for now.

Here's another idea for a side item to go with the Onion Pie:

Cabbage Roll Ups

1/4 stick butter (or margarine)
1 cup cooked rice (brown rice works well as does regular white rice)
1 large head cabbage
1 1/2 lb. ground round steak
2 Tbsp. minced fresh onion (I usually increase the amount of onions)
1 can tomato sauce OR 1 can tomatoes
garlic salt to taste

Cut around the core of the cabbage and remove. Put head of cabbage into boiling water. As leaves soften, remove and drain. Add cooked rice to raw meat in separate bowl. Saute onions in the butter. Add onions to meat and rice mixture. Mix well by hand; if the mixture feels too dry, add a little bit of the canned tomatoes or sauce.

Holding a cabbage leaf in hand, put a scoop of the meat mixture into center and fold the leaf around it.

Layer in foil lined baking dish. Cover with any remaining cabbage leaves. Pour tomato sauce or tomatoes over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 275 degrees for approximately 2 hours. You'll need to watch it closely as the cabbage will burn. I usually end up adding more tomato sauce.

As a variation you might want to try some of the excellent canned tomato mixes (Italian, Mexican and others).

Putting a little sausage in the mixture (best to cook it just a bit first, although not completely) adds a nice bite.

Happy New Year!
Claire