Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe (Lahanodolmades)
Serves 22
20 mins prep
90 mins cook
110 mins total
Authentic Greek Food in the comfort food has never been this easy. Dive into these Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe head first with a generous dollop of Lemon Sauce. This will quickly become your family's new favorite.
For the filling
For the lemon sauce
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (fill the pot about halfway). Remove the stem/core from the bottom of the cabbage, you want to remove a few inches of it so there will be a bit of a hole. Once the water is boiling, add the cabbage with the cored part facing down. Boil for about 10-15 minutes and then flip the cabbage around. Boil the cabbage until tender and the leaves start to become somewhat transparent. Start to remove the leaves from the cabbage as they will start to detach naturally as they cook. As you remove the leaves set aside in a colander until you have 22 leaves.
See note below for alternative freezer method for the cabbage!
Make the filling: Combine the ground beef, rice, diced onion, salt, pepper, olive oil and fresh minced dill and mix to fully combine.
Fill the cabbage leaves: Lay a cooked cabbage leaf flat on your work surface. If there is a thick part of the cabbage stem, trim that piece off and sort of fold the leaf inwards and over so there is no empty space. Place 2 tbsp of filling in the leaf and then fold the left and right sides together and then roll up to complete a roll. Repeat until all of the filling is used and place the cabbage rolls one by one into the pot beside eachother, tucking them in tightly beside eachother.
Prepare the large pot: Set aside 3-4 cabbage leaves. Layer a handful of fresh dill or lemon on the bottom of the pot and then layer the 3-4 cabbage leaves over those, overlapping them to cover most of the bottom of the pot.
Cook the cabbage rolls: Once all of the cabbage rolls have been placed in the pot (if you need to make two layers of rolls thats no problem) place a small-medium plate on top of the cabbage rolls, making sure the plate covers only about 2/3-3/4 of the diameter of the pot. Pour water into the pot, filling about halfway up the side. Bring to a boil over high heat and then turn to medium-low to keep at a simmer. Cook for 60-90 minutes, making sure to check the water level every 20 minutes to ensure it doesn't get too low. If needed, add water to keep the level around the halfway mark.
When the cabbage rolls are done, remove from the heat and move the cabbage rolls to a serving tray. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the water from the pot to make the lemon juice or you can also use chicken broth.
Make the lemon sauce: using a blender blend together the cabbage water or chicken broth along with lemon juice, 1 tbsp cornstarch and 2 eggs. Transfer to a small pot over medium heat, stirring often and let it thicken as the sauce cooks - about 3-4 minutes. Season with 1/2-1 tsp salt. Remove from the heat.
Serve the cabbage rolls and allow people to spoon over the amount of lemon sauce they would like. Top with more fresh dill if desired and cracked black pepper.
