Greek Inspired Cabbage Rolls
6
servings20
minutes45
minutes315
kcal7
grams6
grams18
grams29
gramsI find regular cabbage rolls rather boring, so for this recipe, I drew the inspiration for the filling from one of my favorite pre-keto dishes: spanakopita. I think you’ll find that the combination of beef, feta, spinach, and spices pair wonderfully and make for a special Greek-inspired twist on cabbage rolls.
Ingredients
- Spinach roll “wraps”
2 quarts water (roughly 2L)
2 cups white vinegar (475mL)
2 TB black peppercorns
2 TB kosher salt
5-10 bay leaves *see note
1 head cabbage (or 12 large leaves)
- Filling
1 lb ground beef or lamb (455g)
8 oz frozen or fresh spinach (225g)
8 oz feta, crumbled (225g)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 TB finely chopped fresh mint leaves
2 TB finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 TB minced garlic (5 cloves)
zest of one lemon
1 TB lemon juice (15mL)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
15-20 grinds fresh black pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup tomato sauce (60mL)
sprinkle Greek seasoning or Greek oregano
Directions
- Cabbage wraps
- Add water, vinegar, peppercorns, salt and bay leaves to a medium stockpot and bring to a boil.
- Using a paring knife remove the stem plus roughly 1 inch around the stem of the cabbage. Remove any wilted or damaged leaves, as well. Place cabbage into the boiling water and press it down with a spoon or pair of tongs until it sinks. Cover and let cook for 8 minutes.
- After 8-10 minutes, leaves will start separating from the head of cabbage. Using a pair of tongs, remove these to a wire rack over a baking sheet. A couple of leaves will separate every minute or two. You will want 10 large leaves in total.
- While the cabbage is boiling, you can prep the filling…
- Filling
- Preheat oven to 350F (or 175C)
- Brown the beef or lamb in a skillet over medium heat, then using a slotted spoon, remove beef to a large mixing bowl.
- Return the skillet along with the beef fat to the stove top, and add the spinach, cooking it until wilted if using fresh or unfrozen if using frozen spinach. Using a slotted spoon remove to the mixing bowl with the beef.
- Add all remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl, except for the tomato sauce and Greek seasoning. I recommending mixing with a spatula every couple of ingredients you add, saving the eggs for last.
- Place a scoop of the filling, about 1/3rd of the diameter of the spinach leaf, onto each leaf. Fold in the sides and the roll them up like a burrito. Watch the video if this is unclear to you.
- Place the rolls in a lightly oiled 16 inch x 9 inch baking dish and brush with tomato sauce. Optionally, you can sprinkle on some Greek seasoning or Greek oregano. Cover with foil and place in oven for 40 minutes.
- Remove baking dish from oven, remove foil. Return to oven, uncovered, for an additional 5-10 minutes to let the tomato sauce thicken into a glaze.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Nutritional information is based on a serving size of 2 cabbage rolls
- For the bay leaves, if you have large leaves, use 5. If you have smaller leaves, use 10.
- The left over cabbage can be used for creamed cabbage (future recipe)
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this recipe is so delicious, such a good combination of ingredients, thank you, I am really enjoying this cabbage rolls
Steve. I really enjoyed this dish, all the flavors worked together to make the dish wot repeating. I normally don’t like a dish with a lot of steps, but this one was worth it.
I’m so glad you liked it.
I wish I didn’t already have dinner prepped! I can’t wait to try this next week!
Cette recette est tellement bonne merci mon ami !!!!