Aunty Myrna’s Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 green cabbage

Sauce

• 2 onions, chopped
• 60ml (¼ cup) vegetable oil
• 1 x 420g (14¾ oz) tin condensed tomato soup
• 400ml tomato passata (pureed tomatoes)
• 1 x 400g (14 oz) tin diced
• Italian tomatoes juice of 2 lemons
• 1½ tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Filling

• 600g (1 lb 5 oz) minced (ground) topside beef
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 185g (1 cup) cooked long- grain rice, about 100 g (½ cup) uncooked
• 1 onion, grated
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Method

Start this recipe at least one day before serving, as the flavours develop overnight.

Core the cabbage and place in a large saucepan of cold water so that the cabbage is fully submerged. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the stovetop and allow to cool in the water. Strain when cool, separate the leaves and cut out the thick stalks with a knife.

To make the sauce, you will need a large saucepan. Fry the onion in the oil over low heat until soft, about 20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Set aside until needed.

To make the filling, put the beef in a medium-sized bowl. On a chopping board, using the back of a knife, press the garlic with the salt to form a paste. Add to the beef, along with the rice, onion and pepper. Season generously. Add the eggs and combine.

To make the parcels, lay ¼ cup of the filling in an oblong shape in the centre of a cabbage leaf. Fold in the ends and then roll up like a parcel. Place in the sauce, seam side down. Continue with all the filling and cabbage leaves, placing the rolls snugly side by side in the sauce. Any unused or torn leaves can be rolled up and stuffed into the gaps in the pan. Make sure all the rolls are covered with sauce. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 3 hours, basting from time to time. If the cabbage rolls start to dry out, add more water to cover.

Place in the refrigerator when cool and reheat to serve the next day.

Serves 8