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Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
For many, the smell and taste of cabbage rolls sparks a sense of nostalgia, warmth, and comfort. If you’ve never enjoyed cabbage rolls, this is a dish commonly prepared in Eastern European cuisine, in which cabbage leaves are boiled until soft and pliable, and then stuffed with and wrapped around a filling traditionally consisting of ground meat, rice, and other seasonings, before being cooked in a tomato sauce base. Learn how to pick the right cabbage here.
This is a hearty dish perfect for cold winter nights. Like any recipe, the more often you make cabbage rolls, the easier the process becomes. However, TikTok creator Oddbox UK shared an incredible hack that makes preparing cabbage rolls easier and less time consuming from the start. It turns out that freezing a head of cabbage is the ultimate game changer for preparing this comfort food!
The Easiest Way to Make Cabbage Rolls
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Not only does placing a head of cabbage in the freezer require just one step, but it also removes the process of boiling the cabbage leaves for stuffing, and cooking the assembled cabbage rolls on the stovetop or in the oven. Because the leaves have been frozen, they release water when thawing, making them soft, tender, and easy to work with.
All you have to do is place an entire head of cabbage in the freezer. Once it’s frozen and you’re ready to prepare cabbage rolls, remove the cabbage from the freezer and allow it to thaw for a few hours, until the leaves are soft and peel easily. In the meantime, prepare your mixture for the cabbage rolls. That way, when you’re ready to eat, it will take just a few minutes to prepare your meal. The TikTok creator fills hers with a tofu stir fry with rice and vegetables, but notes that you can use any mixture you prefer such as ground lamb or beef and rice.
More Tips For Easy and Delicious Cabbage Rolls
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- Remove the ends of the leaves. In order to make the cabbage leaves wrap more easily, use a paring knife to remove the “tough bits” at the end of each leaf. This will make them more flexible, with softer, more pliable edges. Here are 50 more recipes that use a head of cabbage.
- Save those tough bits! In the video, TikTok creator Oddbox UK also says that you can include those snipped ends in the mixture for additional heartiness, flavor, and texture. Finely chop and add them to whatever mixture you’re preparing to stuff your cabbage rolls with. This Easy Cabbage Rolls recipe is a great place to start.
- Don’t overfill. While cabbage leaves are large and quite durable compared to other greens, you want to make sure you’re able to securely roll and fold them up for serving. One of the best parts about cabbage rolls is enjoying them neatly with your hands. Fill each cabbage roll with a couple of spoonfuls of mixture, before folding in each end, and then rolling them tightly. Discover more secrets to making perfect stuffed cabbage rolls here!
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