Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe
These delicious stuffed cabbage rolls, or as we call the dish in Armenian : tolma, is one of my favorite traditional dishes. And I do like this one the most, just because it’s much more flavorful from all the other veggies that are included in the dish. Yes, this dish is made mainly from stuffed cabbage rolls, but for our summertime tolma we also include different veggies, such as: eggplants, fresh peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini . Armenian cuisine has many kinds of tolma variations, and I have already shared a few : vegetarian pasus tolma, rice stuffed grape leaves, lazy tolma… More to come and hope you all try and like them as much as I do.
Happy cooking!
Ingredients
For the meat stuffing
1-2 small eggplants
2-3 fresh green or red bell peppers ( I also use spicy chili peppers)
2-3 fresh tomatoes ( make sure they’re not too soft or ripe)
1 zucchini ( optional)
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves
2 ½ -3 lbs fresh ground meat ( I mix ground beef and turkey)
½ cup rice
1-1½ cup cold water
Fresh or dried greens such as: parsley, cilantro, dill, basil, savori
Spices such as: ground black pepper, cayenne, paprika
Salt to taste
For tomato sauce
3-4 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, sliced lengthwise
½ cup tomato sauce
⅓ cup salsa
2 tbs red pepper paste
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs paprika
1 tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste
You will also need boiling hot water or broth, large pot or baking pan
You will need one large cabbage about 6 lbs ( or get two 3 lbs)
Check the blog for instruction how to cook and prep the cabbage leaves
YouTube tutorial is also available on my channel
Directions
*Start by cooking and prepping the cabbage, find instructions on my blog
*Wash the rice and cover with boiling hot water, set aside to soften while you do the rest
*Wash , cut and core all the veggies, refer to YouTube tutorial for more details
Making the tomato sauce
In a frypan combine olive oil and onions, sautée until translucent
Add in salsa, tomato sauce, red pepper paste, paprika, salt and black pepper
Cook and stir 1-2 minutes, set aside
Making the meat stuffing
In your food processor combine all the ingredients plus water, except the meat and rice
Process until smooth
Pour the mixture over the meat and rice, mix well to incorporate , taste the salt
Stuff and arrange all the veggies, cabbage leaves inside your pot
Pour the tomato sauce on top of the stuffed veggies
Add boiling water or stock, as much as it needs to almost cover the veggies, don’t add too much liquid, as it cooks ,more liquid from veggies and meat will come out
Note*
*If cooking on stovetop, be sure to place a ceramic plate on top of veggies, remove the plate after it boils and half cover with a lid, cook on medium to low heat, cook 35-40 minutes
*If cooking in the oven , cover baking pan with double layers of foil, poke the foil to allow the steam out, bake at 450°F/220°C degrees preheated oven 45-50 minutes
Serve hot
Enjoy!
