Toltott kaposzta recipe

Ingredients

• 1 oz Lard
• 3 oz Bacon, diced small
• 10 oz Yellow Onion, minced
• 1 oz Garlic Cloves, minced
• 3 Tbsp Sweet Paprika
• 1 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 1 cup Long Grain Rice
• 1.5 lbs Ground Lean Pork
• 1 Tbsp Fresh Marjoram, minced (or substitute 1 tsp dried)
• 2 Eggs, beaten

• 2 lbs Savoy Cabbage, cored and whole leaves separated (you need at least 20 large leaves)
• 1 gallon Water
• 3 Tbsp Salt
• Ice Bath (for shocking)

• 4 oz Bacon, diced small
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 2 lbs Sauerkraut
• 8 oz Yellow Onion, grated
• 2 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock Stuffed Cabbages
• 2 cups Sour Cream
• Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

For Making the Filling
1. Heat the lard in a large sauté pan over a medium-low flame, until the pan gets hot, and then add the bacon to render the fat out.
2. Once the fat has been rendered from the bacon (this should take at least 5 minutes, if done properly), add the onion and garlic to the pan and sweat them in the fat until both are translucent and soft (about 5 minutes over medium-low flame).
3. Once the onions and garlic are tender, add the paprika, black pepper, salt, and rice. Stir to coat the rice with the fat; remove from heat, transfer to a mixing bowl, and allow the mixture to cool completely.
4. Once the mixture has cooled completely, add the ground pork, marjoram, and eggs. Mix the stuffing very well to combine, and then set this mixture aside until the cabbage is prepared for stuffing.
For Blanching the Cabbage
5. Bring the water and salt to a boil over a high flame. Once boiling, add the Savoy cabbage leaves to the boiling water, one at a time, and blanch until just tender. Shock them immediately in the ice bath once tender.
6. Repeat the first step with the remaining cabbage leaves until all are blanched, and then remove the cabbage leaves from the ice bath and pat them dry with a paper towel before using for filling.
7. Once the cabbage leaves have been patted dry, place about 3 ounces of the filling made in the previous section in the center of the cabbage leaves, and roll the stuffing into the leaves by first folding the sides of the cabbage leaves over the stuffing and then rolling the leaves up to completely encase the stuffing.
For Braising the Stuffed Cabbage
8. Preheat oven to 325DF
9. Using a heavy-bottomed sauté pan that is large enough to hold all of the stuffed cabbages (if you do not have a pan large enough to hold all of them, split this part of the recipe and carry out the following steps in two or more pans), place the pan over a medium low flame to heat it.
10. Once the pan is hot, add the diced bacon and heat over the low flame until the fat has been rendered and the bacon is crisp and browned (8–10 minutes).
11. Once the bacon has been rendered, add the paprika, sauerkraut, grated onion, and chicken stock to the pan.
12. Place the stuffed cabbages on top of the sauerkraut, and cover the pan tightly first with first foil and then with a tight-fitting lid. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes.
13. Once the stuffed cabbages have been cooked covered for 45 minutes, remove them from the oven and check to see if they are done, either by using a thermometer (the cabbages should be at least 165DF in the center) or by feeling to make sure they are solid throughout. If they are not finished, return them to the oven, still covered, to cook until done.
14. Once the stuffed cabbages are cooked through, remove them from the pan and set them into a holding pan on a steam table or another holding area, and return the pan with the sauerkraut to the stove.
15. Temper the sour cream into the sauerkraut mixture, and then simmer it gently before adjusting the seasoning of the sauerkraut/sour cream sauce, if necessary. Serve the stuffed cabbage with the sauce.