We woke up one morning to an instant winter wonderland, although technically it’s still fall. With a chill in the air, it was the perfect weather to heat up the kitchen with a hearty meal.

Years ago when we still lived in Aachen I bought a meal of cabbage rolls from a local deli and loved them. Later I searched for a recipe and couldn’t believe how easy they were to make. It was a meal we often served to visiting family and friends to share German cuisine.

I made a number of changes to the original recipe I found, but essentially the dish consists of ground beef, cabbage leaves, tomato sauce, and rice. I’ve also made a vegetarian version substituting the ground beef with seitan (which I hacked into ground beef texture using a food processor).

The cabbage I use here is Wirsingkohl (Savoy cabbage), with wrinkly leaves that separate into perfect sizes for rolling. Mogly is happy to crunch away on leftover leaves.

This is an ideal weeknight meal, as everything goes into one dish and bubbles away in the oven for 1 to 1 ½ hours, giving you time to exercise or sip wine.

Ingredients for tomato sauce:

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 large onion, sliced (or 3 small)
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 500ml beef stock
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• Chopped parsley QB (I like to use a lot)
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt
• Pepper QB

Ingredients for filling:

• 8 cabbage leaves
• 500g ground beef
• 1tsp salt
• Pepper QB
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup basmati rice, rinsed

Instructions for tomato sauce:

1. Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F).
2. Blanch each of the leaves separately in boiling water for a few minutes until softened enough to roll. Let them drain while preparing the sauce.
3. Melt butter in an oven-proof casserole dish (perfect for our Le Creuset). Add the sliced onion and sauté until glossy. Add can of tomatoes, beef stock, chopped celery, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Stir it all together and let it simmer while you made the rolls.

Instructions for rolls:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, salt, pepper, beaten egg, and rice.
2. Lay out the eight cabbage leaves on the counter. Add a large spoonful of meat mixture to the center of each leaf.
3. Fold the leaf over the mixture and roll (see video).
4. Place each of the rolls in the casserole dish and cover them with the sauce (you made need to add water).
5. Cover and place dish in the oven to bake for 1 to ½ hours. Remove and serve in bowls.

Tip:

Double the recipe to freeze for lunches or another weeknight meal. You should have enough leaves from the one head of cabbage.