Reinvent your dinner: Cabbage stuffed with savoury meatballs

Stuffed cabbage is a dish that combines the simplicity of ingredients with an extraordinary visual and taste appeal. Aromatic meatballs enveloped in delicate cabbage leaves and covered in tomato sauce is a recipe for a dinner that will delight the whole family. This method of preparing cabbage creatively combines traditional ingredients in a new way.

If you're looking for inspiration for a dish that is both visually appealing and delicious, cabbage stuffed with meatballs is the ideal choice. Discover how easy it is to prepare this original dish that is sure to impress both residents and guests.

This time, however, we suggest something entirely different for dinner – the entire head of cabbage becomes an edible dish, concealing juicy meatballs and aromatic tomato sauce. This dish is not only tasty but also impressive – perfect for a family dinner or a special occasion.

Cabbage stuffed with meatballs is a way to merge tradition with modernity. Its delicate leaves envelop the meat harmoniously, and the addition of tomato sauce with marjoram gives the dish a distinct flavour. Since all the ingredients cook together, the dish gains an exceptional depth of flavour that is hard to resist.

Ingredients:

• 280 grams ground pork shoulder,
• 1 onion, finely chopped,
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley,
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika,
• 1 teaspoon salt,
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper,
• 100 grams cooked rice.

Sauce:

• 400 ml broth,
• 70 grams tomato purée,
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed,
• 1 tablespoon dried marjoram,
• 1 teaspoon salt.

Other Ingredients:

• 1 large head of white cabbage,
• 475 ml ready-made tomato sauce (e.g., based on passata),
• parsley for decoration.

Method for preparing stuffed cabbage

1. Preparing the cabbage: Cut off the top part of the cabbage head and gently hollow out the inside. The easiest way to do this is by cutting the leaves with a knife and removing the interior with a spoon. You can use the remaining parts of the cabbage for salad or another dish.
2. Meatballs: Add cooked rice, chopped onion, parsley, sweet paprika, salt, and pepper to the ground meat. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and then form small, compact balls.
3. Sauce: In a saucepan, mix the broth with tomato purée, crushed garlic, marjoram, and salt. Heat on low until the sauce combines and develops a deep flavour.
4. Stuffing the cabbage: Place the prepared meatballs into the hollowed-out cabbage head, packing them tightly to fill the entire space. Pour the prepared tomato sauce into the cabbage.
5. Baking: Place the stuffed cabbage in an ovenproof dish and cover tightly with aluminium foil. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 1.5 hours, until the cabbage softens and the meatballs are ready.
6. Serving: After removing from the oven, pour additional tomato sauce on the cabbage, which you can prepare based on passata and your favourite herbs, such as oregano or basil. Sprinkle with chopped parsley for freshness and colour.