I'm not sure about you all, but I am definitely growing weary of the arctic tundra snowpocalypse that we have been experiencing here in the mitten state lately. Case in point: my husband went hiking this weekend and he and his buddies built and slept in igloos. True story. I went ahead and passed on the invitation to that particular little getaway. I gladly stayed home and went out for dinner with some of my favorite ladies, saw a movie, watched the Olympics, and other indoor activities. Great decision on my part. Anyhow, this weather has made me hungry for some warm, hearty meals and this Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls recipe is officially a new favorite of mine. These would be great served as an appetizer (made in smaller portions than I did this time), or it works really well as a main dish too. I love that the filling in this Italian version is made with ground turkey, instead of rice and ground beef that is common in the Polish version. The flavors are similar to these Turkey Meatballs, which I love. This was the perfect dish to enjoy while bundled up watching some snowboarding the other night.
Cavolo Ripieno (Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
Ingredients
- 1 large head green cabbage
- 1 ½ pounds ground turkey
- ½ cup fresh bread crumbs
- ½ cup Italian flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- ½ medium red onion, finely chopped
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups tomato sauce (I used my favorite Marinara recipe)
- ½ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup toasted breadcrumbs
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons salt.
- Remove any tough outer leaves from the cabbage and discard. Carefully remove 12 whole leaves from the cabbage (for main course sized portions, you will need only 6 leaves).
- Plunge the leaves into the boiling water and cook until soft and pliable, about 4 or 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water, then lay out on paper towels to cool.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, fresh breadcrumbs, ¼ cup of the parsley, the sage, onion, eggs, salt, and pepper and mix well by hand.
- Lay the cabbage leaves out on a cutting board and place a medium-sized handful of the turkey mixture in the center of the bottom of each leaf (6 o'clock position). Gently fold the sides over and roll up from the bottom to make a neat package. Continue until all the filling is gone. (I made 6 larger sized portions, using a large handful of the turkey filling in each roll)
- Pour half the tomato sauce and all the wine into a baking dish large enough to hold all the cabbage rolls. Lay the cabbage rolls seam side down on top of the sauce. Spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the rolls and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour. Sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs, and the remaining ¼ cup parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
Adapted from Molto Italiano by Mario Batali
Ashley Anderson-varney
Oh I can taste these already......yum yum yum....you are one amazing woman. Keep up the good work.
nanny
I just made Martha's recipe and it was bland and the cabbage was tough. Before I served it the next day, I was able to adjust and improve it but THIS is the recipe I should have made. It sounds just right, and I'll be doing this next week. Thank you for this one....winter is upon us!