Cabbage Roll Casserole

All the deliciousness of cabbage rolls with only a fraction of the effort! My kind of recipe.

I found a cabbage roll casserole recipe floating around online somewhere several years ago. I've long since lost the original link. Although if you look around you can find dozens of different variants on the theme these days. The original had you prepare this most of the way on the stove and then assemble in a casserole dish and bake for an hour or so. I simplified it further and just did the whole thing on the stove top. I also added a few extra spices. And today I ended up making it with a combination of sauerkraut and kale since the last of our cabbage had gone off. It's really quite a forgiving and flexible recipe.

Cabbage Roll Casserole (or maybe it's more of a stew?)

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 450g lean ground beef
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/4 tsp. hot paprika
• 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 800mL whole tinned tomatoes (with juice)¹
• 1/2 c. long-grain white rice²
• 2 c. vegetable stock
• 1/4 of a large head of cabbage, chopped³

Directions

1. In large pot, cook onion in oil over medium heat.
2. When onion has softened and begun to brown, add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Break up beef and add to pot.
4. Season with salt and pepper and add Italian seasoning, bay leaf, both types of paprika, and ground coriander. Continue cooking until beef is brown and cooked through.
5. If using whole tomatoes, break them up and add them to the pot.
6. Stir in rice and vegetable stock.
7. Add cabbage (or vegetables of choice) on top of this.
8. Cover and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes (or until rice is cooked).
10. Stir and check consistency. If it seems too thin, simmer uncovered for a few minutes.

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¹ I used whole tomatoes because that's what I had on hand. I've also made this with crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. I think diced tomatoes would also work just fine. ^Back
2 Brown rice also works here, you'll just need to add a bit more liquid to compensate for the longer cooking time. ^Back
3 I'd been hanging on to a cabbage quarter for a while and apparently it had been languishing in the fridge a bit too long. It wasn't looking so hot when I went to get it out, so I ended up composting it and using a bunch of kale and a little sauerkraut in my casserole instead. It's less cabbage roll-esque than the standard recipe, but still plenty tasty! ^Back