Stuffed Cabbage Rolls -- Grain Free

This evening I was in the mood to have stuffed cabbage rolls for dinner. I seem to be on a cabbage roll (hee hee) these last couple of days. I used a head of napa cabbage in my Wonton-less Soup last night and then used an entire head of savoy cabbage to make my stuffed cabbage rolls this evening.  I revised my regular Stuffed Cabbage Rolls recipe that I posted last March (2012) for St. Patrick's Day before I went wheat and grain free.  I've embedded that original recipe above if you want to check it out as well as see the photos and different steps.  In order to keep them grain free, rather than adding regular rice, I added cauliflower rice (grated raw cauliflower) in its place.  My old regular recipe also had a little brown sugar for a touch of sweetness...and I replaced that with grated carrots to provide not only a touch of natural sweetness, but a bit of color as well.  I made a few other tweaks to my old recipe and also chose to bake them in the oven rather than cook in a pot on the stove like I usually do.  

They turned out good -- hubby said they were "excellent"...and considering he is not wheat/grain free, that's a pretty good compliment coming from him!  The only thing we added to them while we ate, was a touch of sea salt.  I enjoy having the light tomato infused broth in my bowl when I eat them. One last suggestion is that this is probably not a "weeknight/after work recipe" as it is a bit more time consuming to put together than most recipes...so you might want to reserve making this on a weekend if you decide to try it out.  I snapped a few photos as well as my new grain free recipe below. Enjoy!

Rolled and ready to be topped with tomatoes and baked... 

Topped with fire roasted tomatoes, dotted with butter and ready for the oven...

Voila!

BOOM!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - Grain Free

Ingredients:

10-12 medium-large cabbage leaves (more or less depending on how large)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon paprika (I used Hungarian sweet paprika)
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, optional
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced
Dash cayenne pepper, optional
1 pound ground beef (I used 90% lean grass fed)
1-1/2 cups cauliflower rice (grated raw cauliflower)
2 medium carrots, grated, optional
1 large egg
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
1 cup chicken stock
1 14.5-oz can crushed tomatoes or diced fire roasted tomatoes (I used diced fire roasted)
3 tablespoons butter, diced


Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Remove the core of the cabbage and immerse it in the pot of boiling water.  After boiling for about 5-10 minutes or so, the leaves will begin to soften and separate from the head; remove the loosened cooked, tender leaves with tongs to a platter and place in a colander in the sink to drain (make sure they are soft and pliable or you won't be able to fold and roll them). When you've cooked and removed enough leaves for your cabbage rolls, set them aside and reserve the remaining cabbage to be chopped and used to place in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish (or a casserole big enough to hold one layer of cabbage rolls).

In a medium skillet, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent; add dried spices (paprika, dill weed, optional allspice and cayenne), stirring over low heat 1-2 minutes until fragrant.  Remove from heat; stir in the fresh parsley and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, raw cauliflower rice, grated carrots, egg, cooked onion mixture, salt and pepper.  Mix together thoroughly and divide with a knife while in the bowl into the number of cabbage leaves you plan to make (approximately 10-12).  Rough chop the remaining head of cooked cabbage and place in the bottom of the casserole, making a bed to place the cabbage rolls on while they cook.  Begin making the cabbage rolls:  Lay a cabbage leaf on a cutting board or work surface and place a portion of the ground beef filling in the center of the cabbage leaf (either remove the tough vein by cutting a small "v" and discarding the thick white core/vein, or slice a thin layer off of the tough portion so it is flexible enough to roll up).  With the ground meat filling in the center of your trimmed cabbage leaf, begin rolling the cabbage leaf over the beef mixture, tucking and folding in both sides while continuing to roll forward until snugly closed.  Place seam side down in casserole dish on top of chopped cabbage.  Repeat rolling and placing cabbage rolls in single layer in casserole.

Carefully pour chicken stock over the cabbage rolls.  Spoon crushed or diced tomatoes over the cabbage rolls; dot with butter, and cover.  Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until done.