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Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe for an Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole or Lazy Cabbage Rolls

This baked cabbage roll casserole recipe makes an unstuffed cabbage roll casserole or lazy cabbage rolls. Blanched cabbage leaves are layered lasagna-like with a rich tomato sauce, farmer’s cheese, and a cabbage roll fried rice made from the savoury ground pork, onion, garlic and carrot filling usually stuffed within the cabbage leaves to make traditional cabbage rolls. So delicious!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Russian, Russian/Australian
Servings: 6
Calories: 486kcal
Author: Lara Dunston

Ingredients

  • 1 cup jasmine rice steamed – or 300g leftover steamed rice
  • 800 g cabbage head
  • 3 tbsp olive oil – more if needed
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 180 g brown onion finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 200 g carrot finely diced
  • 125 g minced pork
  • 125 g ground beef
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 2 tsp ground paprika
  • 1 400 g tin of crushed tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 250 g farmers cheese or a mix of feta cheese and cottage cheese
  • 3 tbsp fresh dill

Instructions

  • If you don’t have leftover rice, steam one cup of jasmine rice in a rice cooker, then set it aside to cool.
  • Half-fill a large stock pot with water, add a pinch of salt, and bring it to boil. Core the cabbage head, put it in the pot of boiling water, and as the cabbage leaves soften and yellow, use long tongs to carefully pull the leaves apart, taking care so that they do not break. Remove the leaves, shake off any excess water, and place each leaf separately on a clean tea-towel to cool.
  • In a round flat-bottomed work, fry pan or skillet, fry the finely chopped onion in a tablespoon of cooking oil until soft and fragrant, add the chopped garlic and continue frying until the onion is translucent. Remove half the onion and garlic and set aside in a dish.
  • Add another tablespoon of oil and the grated carrot, combine the ingredients, and fry for a few minutes. Add the minced pork, minced beef, cup of steamed rice, teaspoon each of salt, pepper and paprika, and combine well, adding another 1-2 tablespoons of oil if needed (so the mixture won’t dry out in the oven), and fry until just-cooked. Taste, add any additional seasoning if needed, then remove from heat, transfer to a plate, and set aside.
  • In a fry pan, add the fried onion and garlic that you set aside, along with the tin of crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, and a teaspoon each of salt and sugar, and reduce on high heat until thickened, the remove from heat and set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. In a greased ceramic baking dish or high-rimmed oven tray, create a layer of cabbage leaves, spreading them out flat so they slightly over-lap and reach the top of the edge of the baking dish/tray, then create a layer of the savoury minced meat and rice mixture, then a layer of the rich tomato sauce, and finally, randomly sprinkle on some farmers cheese and tablespoon of fresh dill.
  • Repeat 2-3 more times until the baking dish/tray is full, place a few bay leaves on the top layer, turn the heat down to 180 degrees Celsius. then slide into the dish/tray into the oven and bake for 25 minutes minimum. If you have more time, cover the top with foil and continue to bake as the flavours will meld together even more the longer it’s in the oven.
  • Slice it up as you would a lasagne, garnish with sprigs of fresh dill, and serve with a garden salad and homemade pickles.

Nutrition

Calories: 486kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 1434mg | Potassium: 710mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2597IU | Vitamin C: 58mg | Calcium: 313mg | Iron: 3mg