Stuffed cabbage rolls with pork and rice in tomato sauce

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Remove the outer leaves from the head of cabbage, cut off the stem end and put the head into boiling water. Cook for only a few minutes, until the leaves soften.

   Then peel off the leaves that will be used to wrap the filling. The remaining leaves can be used for another dish or to line the bottom of the pot.

2. Mix the ground meat with one finely chopped onion, pressed garlic, the eggs, rice, salt and pepper.

   Each time, take a portion of the filling, shape it in your palms into an oblong roll and wrap it in a cabbage leaf. Pack the rolls tightly into a larger pot whose bottom has been lined with the remaining leaves.

3. Sauté the remaining onion in the lard, add the finely chopped bacon and fry them together. Stir in the ground paprika and the tomato paste, pour in water or broth, simmer briefly and pour the sauce over the rolls so that they are almost submerged.

4. Place the pot on the stove, cover with a lid and braise the rolls over low heat for about an hour, until tender.

Tip: Place a smaller plate upside down on top of the packed rolls so they do not move or unwrap while braising. Do not stir the pot afterward; just shake it gently from time to time.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Kapustoví holúbkovia s ryžou v paradajkovej omáčke