Josephine Gresko's Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 medium cabbage, cored
• 2 lbs ground round or 2 lbs chuck
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped (1/2-inch pieces)
• 1 cup raw long-grain rice (not converted rice)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 lb sauerkraut, from a bag, drained and rinsed
• 28 ounces can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups tomato juice

Recipe

• 1 bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a cabbage. reduce heat slightly and blanch cabbage, turning a few times, about 5 minutes, until leaves begin loosening and look translucent.
• 2 with cabbage in water, use long-handled fork or tongs to pull off leaves as they loosen.
• 3 remove what's left of cabbage and repeat with other cabbage.
• 4 don't discard inner leaves or broken leaves. reserve water.
• 5 let cabbage cool.
• 6 in large bowl or tub, put ground beef, onion, celery, rice, eggs, parsley flakes, garlic salt, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• 7 mix well with hands, adding 1/4 cup water if mixture feels "tight.".
• 8 with paring knife, trim thick cores from outer sides of cabbage leaves. coarsely chop smaller leaves and cabbage bits; strew half in bottom of an 18-by-10-by-3-inch heavy-duty foil roasting pan.
• 9 pour reserved cabbage water over sauerkraut in a colander to rinse more, if you like.
• 10 drain well.
• 11 strew half the kraut over cabbage in pan.
• 12 pour in half the crushed tomatoes and 1 cup tomato juice.
• 13 season with salt and pepper; mix well.
• 14 for rolls, shape about 1/4 cup meat into a sausage (not too tight) for a large leaf, less for a smaller leaf.
• 15 put filling on the bottom of the leaf, and fold the bottom over the filling, pressing inches
• 16 then fold in the sides, pressing and rolling, but not too tight, not worrying if a leaf breaks.
• 17 filled leaves are placed seam-side down in pan, in even rows, 5 or 6 across, making 25 to 28 rolls.
• 18 strew remaining chopped cabbage (chop any unused leaves) and sauerkraut over the rolls.
• 19 top with remaining crushed tomatoes and tomato juice.
• 20 salt and pepper generously.
• 21 rinse crushed tomato can with about 1/2 can water.
• 22 pour water over top; don't worry about mixing it.
• 23 cover pan tightly with foil.
• 24 bake in 325-degree oven 1 hour. (check after 30 minutes to be sure it's bubbling. if not, turn oven to 350 degrees.).
• 25 after 1 hour, reduce temperature to 250 degrees. bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer, until rolls are tender and meat and rice fully cooked (cut open a roll to check).