Lahanodolmades (Stuffed Cabbage)

I had so much fun making the stuffed grape leaves that I wanted to do another stuffed dish. Stuffed cabbage leaves had been on my "to try" list for a while and I had a few recipes bookmarked. The one that stood out the most was Peter's cabbage rolls with avgolemono sauce. These stuffed cabbage rolls were pretty similar to the stuffed grape leaves but that was alright because they were so good. I really enjoy the combination of flavours in this dish. Dill, feta and lemon go so well together and the mint brightens everything up a bit. It was fun trying to peel the leaves off of the hot cabbage but otherwise the recipe was pretty easy. The lahanodolmades turned out to be really tasty! The cabbage leaves were juicy and tender. The rolls held together well though they were easy to cut or bit into.

What I liked most about making this dish was that I really nailed the avgolemono sauce this time. Although my previous avgolemono sauces have tasted good, they did not thicken up as much as I was hoping for. This time I whisked the avgolemono sauce in a double boiler and it thickened up really nicely. The avgolemono sauce was light and frothy and lemony good.

Ingredients:
1 cabbage (cored)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 pound lean ground beef (or lamb)
1/2 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup feta (crumbled)
1 lemon (zest)
1 bunch of green onions (sliced)
1/4 cup dill (chopped)
1/4 cup mint (chopped)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
* chicken stock
2 eggs
1 lemon (juice)

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with some salt.
2. Carefully place the head of cabbage into the water and boil for 10-15 minutes. The leaves should be a little see through and they should come off easily without ripping.
3. Drain the water and carefully peel the leaves off one by one removing the thick part of the rib of each leaf.
4. Heat the oil in a pan.
5. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute and remove from heat.
7. Mix the onions, garlic, ground beef, rice, tomato puree, feta, lemon zest, green onions, dill, mint salt and pepper in a large bowl.
8. Place a cabbage leaf on a flat surface with the vein side up.
9. Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the leaf and fold the sides over the filling and roll the leaf up. Repeat until all of the filling is used up.
10. Place stuffed leaves into a baking dish in layers and just cover with chicken stock.
11. Bake in a 375F oven for about 1 hour.
12. Whisk the eggs in bowl over a small pan of simmering water until frothy, about 3 minutes.
13. Slowly pour in the lemon juice while whisking.
14. Add some of the liquid from the baking dish and continue whisking until it thickens.
15. Mix most of the avgolemono sauce into the dish with the wraps reserving some for garnish.
16. Serve garnished with the reserved avgolemono sauce and some chopped dill and or mint.

Similar Recipes:
Dolmades (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
Kolokithakia Gemista (Stuffed Courgettes)

Eggplant Wrapped Kebabs Baked in Tomato Sauce