Stuffed Cabbage with Pomegranate Molasses and Mint

When it comes to Hanukkah, I’m a latke guy but not a brisket guy. Latkes are crispy and salty and fun to make. Brisket dries out really easy and it’s an expensive thing to screw up. So this year, for the first night of Hanukkah, I decided to go with another beloved entree with Jewish-inflections: stuffed cabbage.

It’s What’s Inside That Counts

This stuffed cabbage recipe comes to us from the Shaya cookbook by Alon Shaya, whose restaurant we ate at and loved when we visited New Orleans back in 2022. Like most stuffed cabbage recipes, this one has a filling made with beef, onions, and some parsley. Unlike most stuffed cabbage recipes, this one also has bread soaked in milk (a good strategy from the best Italian meatballs) and lots of spices (paprika, coriander, all-spice).

Leaf and Let Dry

Rewinding the tape, for a moment, you can see the bread that I used for the stuffing. You can also see the cabbage that got stuffed.

Once the filling was made (I used my hands to mix it all together), I set about prepping the cabbage leaves. Your mission: to extract as many whole leaves as you can without ripping them. Once you do, you cook them in boiling water just until pliable. (The only issue with the recipe is he doesn’t tell you how many leaves you’ll need. I’d count on needing at least fifteen.)

You put the just-boiled leaves on a cookie sheet lined with kitchen towels and let them dry.

A Saucy Hot Tub

While they’re drying, you can make your sauce. Shaya’s recipe has onions, garlic, and the nifty addition of anchovies which adds great umami and nobody will have any idea where it’s coming from. It also has a lovely hit of pomegranate molasses.

Once those start to turn golden (and the anchovy melts), you add tomato paste, and finally crushed tomatoes, pomegranate molasses, and water.

Get Stuffed

Now’s the fun part: stuffing the cabbage! Sometimes little kitchen tasks can be soothing. This is one of them.

I used an ice cream to scoop about 1/4 cup of filling into the bottom part of a whole cabbage leaf. Then you roll it up like a burrito and put the seam-side down in the pot of simmering sauce. Do this over and over again until you have a full pot. For the ones that didn’t fit snugly at the bottom, I used toothpicks to hold them together.

You put the lid on and then let this simmer for about ninety minutes. When the lid comes off, it’ll look just like this:

How’s that for a cozy winter night’s meal? And the really nice thing is you can make it ahead and then just let it sit on the stove until you’re ready to eat. Then you just turn the heat back on and simmer until it’s all warmed up again. Look at these happy stuffed cabbage eaters.

Paired with latkes and sour cream, this is the Hanukkah dinner of your dreams (Christmas tree notwithstanding).

Stuffed Cabbage with Mint and Pomegranate Molasses

A zesty and savory stuffed cabbage from New Orelans chef Alon Shaya.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: European

Calories: 400

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 gallon plus 1 cup water divided
• 2 large heads green cabbage
• 4 slices white bread
• ½ cup milk
• 1 yellow onion
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil divided
• 2 tablespoons Morton kosher salt divided
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ⅓ cup Arborio rice
• 1¼ pounds ground beef preferably 80 percent lean
• 1 cup lightly packed fresh parsley leaves chopped
• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano
• 1 anchovy
• ½ cup tomato paste
• One 28-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 5 or 6 fresh mint leaves torn

Method

 

1. Bring 1 gallon water to a boil. Remove and discard the cabbages’ tough or bruised outer leaves, then make an incision all around the cores and gently peel away one leaf at a time, so they stay as intact as possible. If the leaves keep tearing on you, you can place each head of cabbage, core side up, in a large heatproof bowl, and ladle the boiling water over them so they’re completely submerged; top off your pot of boiling water, since you’ll need it again in a bit. Let the cabbage sit for 15 minutes, drain the water, and peel the leaves as directed; stop peeling as you near the center, since the leaves need to be at least 7 or 8 inches long.
2. Working in batches, cook the cabbage leaves in the boiling water for just 1 or 2 minutes, until they’re pliable but still have some life in them; if you poured boiling water over the heads of cabbage before peeling, you’ll only need to do this parboiling process with the crisper inner leaves. As they finish cooking, pull them out with tongs or a slotted spoon, and lay them flat on a dish towel to cool while you finish the rest.
3. To make the filling: Cube the bread into ½-to-1-inch pieces, and toss it with the milk to soak evenly (don’t worry if some of the pieces start to disintegrate). Cut the onion in half; reserve one half for later, and mince the other half. Add it to the filling with ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, paprika, coriander, and allspice.
4. Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear; this gets rid of starches that can gum up the filling. Combine it with the rest of the filling.
5. Add the ground beef and parsley to the bowl, and use your hands or a spatula to fold it all together until it’s evenly combined. Cover in plastic and refrigerate while you make the sauce.
6. Pull out a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, and add the remaining ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat. Thinly slice the other half of the onion, and add it to the oil with the garlic, whole sprigs of oregano, and anchovy; cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes, until the onion slices are browned on the edges and the anchovy melts. Add the tomato paste, stirring to break it up, and let toast for a couple minutes.
7. In a large bowl, crush the canned tomatoes between your fingers, and combine them with the last 1 tablespoon salt, pomegranate molasses, and mint. When the tomato paste smells fragrant and caramelized in the pan, stir in the canned-tomato mixture and the last 1 cup water, and bring it all to a simmer.
8. To stuff the cabbage: Mound about ¼ cup filling right near the base of each leaf. Roll them all like burritos, tucking in the sides as you go, taking care not to tear them.
9. Add each parcel of stuffed cabbage, seam side down, to the pot with the sauce, using your spoon to push them to the bottom and snuggle them together wherever they’ll fit. You can stack them if necessary. Decrease the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook for 75 to 90 minutes. To check for doneness, partially cut into one of the little packets, and taste a piece of the Arborio rice; it should be intact but creamy. If it needs more time, re-cover, cook for 10 minutes, and taste again; repeat for more 10-minute intervals if needed.
10. Take the pot off the heat, and let the cabbage rest for 30 minutes or so, with the lid still on, to give everything a chance to settle. Discard the sprigs of oregano. Serve the stuffed cabbage warm, taking care not to let the leaves unravel, and spoon some of the remaining sauce over the top.