Hungarian Cabbage Rolls - Töltött Káposzta

4.91 from 10 votes

Hungarian Cabbage Rolls - Töltött Káposzta

These delicious stuffed cabbage rolls are a classic Hungarian dish with each tightly rolled with meat, rice, onions, and seasonings.

Prep Time45

Cook Time1 15

Total Time2

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Hungarian

Servings: rolls

Calories: 96kcal

Author: Rose

Equipment

two large sauce pots

Ingredients

1 head green cabbage, cored
1 1/2 lb lean ground pork
1/2 cup long grain rice, rinsed
2 slices of butchers bacon optional: 2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1-28 oz jar tomato juice
14 oz water
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 slices smoky butcher's bacon
2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup water
chopped parsley for garnishing
dollop of sour cream

Instructions

Cabbage:

Remove a few of the outer leaves of the cabbage head and rinse well. Take a sharp knife, and carefully core the cabbage. See photo below.
Bring a large 6 quart pot of water to a boil, and place in cored cabbage. Turn the heat down to a low boil, and rotate cabbage. This will soften the cabbage leaves, and the outer leaves will start to peel away. Use a fork to peel the leaves away from the cabbage and immerse the leaves into the boiling water to soften, and continue this process until there is only a small portion of the cabbage head remaining. Slice the remaining core and any small leaves and set aside.
Place each leaf on a plate, and once it starts to cool, take a paring knife and slice down one side of the vein.Trim the vein off completing from the other side of the leaf. This will make rolling much easier. Option is to leave the entire leave whole, but to note that the cabbage rolls will be much larger.

Filling and Rolling:

In a medium size skillet, fry the bacon until cooked, then remove, (or heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil) then add onion and sauté until tender and transparent. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together ground pork, rinsed rice, salt, black pepper, paprika and cooked onions.
Rolling: take one half leaf at a time, and add about one tablespoon of the mixed ground pork and place it in the center of the cabbage leaf and begin rolling lengthwise. Once halfway, tuck in end of leaf over the meat, continue rolling on a diagonal and until you reach the end of the leaf and tuck inside with fingers. See photo below. If rolling the whole leaf, it requires to be rolling halfway then tuck one side in and roll to the end of the leaf and tuck the remaining end in with fingers. Place one and half or two tablespoons for a whole cabbage leaf.
Place half of the sliced cabbage on the bottom of a large sauce pot and begin adding the cabbage rolls. Any remaining loose cabbage, place on top and then place about 4 slices of the bacon. This will add a smoky flavour to the cabbage rolls.
In a large bowl, blend together tomato juice, water, salt and pepper. Pour over cabbage rolls to cover. Place pot over medium to high heat, once the liquid begins a slow boil, turn down to low gentle boil and cover slightly with lid. Cook for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Once it has cooked for over an hour, test one cabbage roll for doneness.
To thicken the sauce, mix the flour and water in a small bowl, bring the cabbage rolls to a slow boil, gently move the cabbage rolls off to the sides and add the flour mixture. Once the sauce has thickened, remove from heat.
Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or chopped parsley.
Serve with crusty bread, mashed or roasted potatoes.

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