Martha Stewarts Mothers Stuffed Cabbage Recipes

STUFFED CABBAGE WITH BEEF AND RICE

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook cabbage, turning often, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and, with tongs, gently separate leaves. Cut out thick ribs from 8 to 10 of the largest leaves and set leaves aside. Shred remaining cabbage and place in an 8-inch square baking dish set on a baking sheet.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Transfer half the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar to saucepan, season with salt and pepper, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce on top of shredded cabbage in dish.
• To bowl with onion mixture, add rice, ground beef, and egg and season with salt and pepper. With your hands, mix well, then divide into 8 portions. Working with a few leaves at a time, lay cabbage on a work surface, overlapping smaller leaves to form one larger leaf if necessary. Place a portion of beef in the center of each. Fold bottom half of cabbage over filling, then fold in sides and roll up tightly. Transfer cabbage rolls, seam side down, to baking dish. Top with remaining sauce, cover dish with foil, and bake on sheet 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until sauce is bubbling, about 10 minutes.

STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Using a paring knife, remove center core of cabbage. In a large nonreactive stockpot, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add cabbage and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until outer leaves are bright green and tender. Lift cabbage from water, and remove outer leaves. Return cabbage to boiling water, and repeat brief cooking and removal of leaves until all leaves are cooked. Reserve 2 cups cabbage cooking water. Trim thick center vein from bottom of each leaf. Reserve four large outer leaves to line bottom of pan.
• In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook until golden and tender, about 8 minutes. In a large bowl, combine onion mixture, rice, beef, pork, salt, pepper, parsley flakes, green pepper, and celery. Stir to combine.
• Add about 1/3 cup rice filling to one cabbage leaf. Fold sides of cabbage over filling, and, starting with the stem end, roll the cabbage up. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
• Line a 5-quart Dutch oven with reserved outside leaves. Transfer stuffed cabbage leaves to Dutch oven.
• In a large bowl, combine tomato puree and the reserved 2 cups of cabbage cooking water. Pour some of the tomato sauce over cabbage to almost cover. Sprinkle apple over top of cabbage leaves. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a gentle simmer; cover. Cook for 1 hour or until cabbage is very tender, adding additional tomato sauce as needed.
• Place sour cream in a small bowl, and ladle in about 3/4 cup of tomato sauce from the cooked stuffed cabbage rolls. Whisk to combine. Add sour cream mixture back to Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Serve with additional sour cream.

STUFFED PEPPERS WITH MRS. KOSTYRA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pine nuts in single layer on a small baking sheet. Bake until golden and aromatic, 8 to 12 minutes. Shake the pan halfway through baking to make sure nuts toast evenly.
• Line a baking pan that's just large enough to hold the peppers with the tomato slices. Season with salt and pepper.
• Combine raisins and orange juice in a small bowl. Let stand until raisins are plumped, about 15 minutes.
• Using a sharp knife, cut around the stems of six of the peppers. Core and seed the peppers, reserving the stems. Set aside.
• Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the rice, and simmer, covered, until rice is just a little undercooked, about 15 minutes.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and shallots, and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the finely chopped pepper and the plumped raisins. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the thyme leaves, basil, chervil, and pine nuts, stirring to combine. Stir in the cooked rice.
• Fill each pepper with one sixth of the rice mixture. Place reserved pepper stems on top of each pepper. Top the tomatoes with the reserved thyme stems. Fit the peppers into the baking dish, and place the chervil sprigs between them. Cover with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil, and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover, and continue to bake until peppers are tender and rice is heated through, about 10 minutes.