Tangy Cabbage Rolls Recipe | Traditional Newfoundland Dish

This tried and true recipe for cabbage rolls is one of my husbands absolute favorite meals. They are tangy, meaty and simply delicious. I have to admit, its the red tomato sauce that is amazing and truly compliments these old fashioned cabbage rolls.

Before I get to the recipe let me show you the cabbage we grow here in Newfoundland. Quite large & green with nice dark leaves for extra vitamins! Cabbage is a staple here it is used in a variety of dishes and seems to make an appearance on most Sunday dinner tables across Newfoundland. A tradition we hope to keep alive! Raw or cooked we love it!

It was a beautiful head of cabbage and the most perfect leaves for this cabbage roll recipe. I am amazed that the bugs didn’t eat it as we grow everything organically.

A few tips and tricks for keeping your cabbage beautiful and pest free are to spray a few times a week with salt water from the ocean. I also would repeat sooner if it was raining.

Placing a fine mesh cloth over the top works too just be sure the holes are very small. Those little white cabbage moths are sneaky.

Another trick is to place crushed egg shells or sand around the border of each cabbage. This works well for slugs as do Beer traps.

The following video is a step by step tutorial on how to make these yummy cabbage rolls. You’ll see the size of the leaves and the deep intense green color.

I sure hope you enjoyed the tutorial. They are certainly worth the effort. Look at the sauce:

In the photo above, I left some cabbage rolls uncovered so you could see the color and how to layer if necessary. You want to cover them fully with sauce before placing in the oven.

Below you’ll find a picture of them all ready for the preheated oven:

In order to make these traditional cabbage rolls you will need the following ingredients:

Ingredients for the rolls:

• one large head of cabbage
• 2 lbs. of ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 1 splash of Worchester sauce
• 2 cloved of garlic
• 2 tsps. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup of minute rice uncooked

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 lg. can of diced tomatoes with the juice
• 2 Tbsps. of apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar you can add more to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• If desired I do, add a pinch of dried basil and oregano

Cabbage Roll Instructions:

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Once boiled place entire head of cabbage into the boiling water. Set a timer for 3-4 minutes.

Remove and place in ice cold water. This process blanches the cabbage to make it easier to remove the leaves without tearing them. You may not have to blanche the larger outer leaves.

Remove leaves and using a sharp knife cut the hard stem from the center of each leaf.

( see tutorial)

When you have all the stems removed, place your cabbage leaves aside and get your beef mixture prepared.

In a bowl mix together ground beef, spices. ( you can add your own here ) eggs, uncooked minute rice and Worchester sauce.

Once combined thoroughly, with wet hands form balls into cylinder shapes. This recipe makes approximately 16.

Place one ball in the center of each leaf. Tuck in the bottoms and roll up tucking the sides in as you go along. See tutorial

Place your cabbage rolls seam side down. When all rolled place them in your refrigerator while you make your tangy tomato sauce.

For the sauce:

In a large pan, over medium heat, place oil and sauté onion. When translucent, add your minced garlic along with one cup of chopped cabbage leaves. The darkest ones look the best.

Sauté for one minute. you just want to start releasing the flavor of the garlic.

Make sure you’re using a deep dan. Next, add to the onions mixture your tomato sauce, the diced tomatoes and the juice, the vinegar, brown sugar salt and pepper. If you prefer a thicker sauce feel free to add a couple tablespoons of tomato paste.

Not necessary but I also like to add a pinch of oregano and basil leaves. Totally optional.

Bring your sauce to a simmer and when its condensed to your desired consistency, place a layer of sauce in the bottom of your oven proof dish.

Place cabbage rolls onto of the sauce seam side down. Continue to layer cabbage rolls and sauce until you’ve used up all your rolls. Be sure to save enough sauce to completely cover everything.

Place your cabbage rolls in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 2 hours covered.

Enjoy!

I sure hope you enjoyed this blog post and give this recipe a try. I am sure your family and friends will enjoy.

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