Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Around the new year I get nostalgic, especially for my Oma's cooking. She lived in a rent controlled apartment building along with many of her life-long friends for over 50 years. The whole building always smelt of cooking and mostly cabbage.

Filling

Makes 16

1 large cabbage

1 kg/2 pounds minced meat (I use lamb)

2 cups grated carrots

2 tsp mild paprika

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 medium onion – chopped

1 egg

Core the cabbage and remove outer leaves until you get to the pale green leaves.

Place the cabbage with the cored end down into a large pot or steamer filled with a little water.

Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the outer leaves start to drop away from the cabbage.

Remove the soft leaves and place cabbage back into the pot until the rest of the leaves have become soft. You should be able to get 16 leaves.

Slice the top off the thick middle stem of each leaf.

Meanwhile, place the paprika, ground black pepper, salt, onion and egg into a food processor and process until the mixture becomes the consistency of a paste.

Mix with the grated carrots into the minced meat.

Divide into 16 equal portions and roll into the cabbage leaf.

Chop up the left over cabbage and place into the bottom of a deep baking dish.

Stuffed cabbage rolls where my favourite. She never past on a recipe, and it's been many years since I have had them. Since grains don't do so well with my digestion I have substituted carrots for the rice, and everything else is fairly traditional about the recipe.

Sauce

1 kg/2 pounds of tomatoes

4 cups tomato sauce

1 tsp mild paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbs honey

1 cup sauerkraut

3 bay leaves

I have found 100% tomato sauce at Trader Joes or Wholefoods (Bionaturae, Eden etc). In Australia most Health Food Stores also carry pure tomato sauce. It's important for people on SCD to make sure that there are no additives such as citric acid etc. If unsure substitute with chicken or beef broth.

Chop the tomatoes and place into a food processor with the tomato sauce, paprika, salt, pepper and honey and process until chopped up into a liquid sauce.

Then combine with the sauerkraut and bay leaves.

Assembly

Place the first layer of cabbage rolls onto the layer of chopped up left over cabbage. Pour over half the sauce.

Place another layer of cabbage rolls on top and pour over the rest of the tomato sauce.

Cover the dish with foil.

Place into pre-heated oven (340F/175C) for 2 hours. Take the dish out of the oven and let rest for 15 minutes before serving.