Cabbage; the King of the winter veggies. It is not my favorite vegetable as a salad but I love its cooked version. Especially, Greek cabbage rolls with egg lemon sauce.
Last time I visited Florina I came back once again with my hands full. Chestnuts from the mountain, pumpkins from my parents’ garden and cabbages from my grandmother’s garden.
As I mentioned in the beginning, cabbage is not my favorite vegetable. But probably I haven’t eaten the right one. I can’t even describe how tender and tasteful the cabbages from my grandmother’s garden was.
One of the cabbages was cooked with pork and smoked paprika, you can find the recipe here. But, if you want to taste the amazing Greek cabbage rolls with egg lemon sauce, keep reading. Or you can do both recipes, they are equally mouthwatering.
Greek cabbage rolls with egg lemon sauce
I have to admit that the recipe is a little bit hard to make mainly due to the procedure of removing the leaves of the cabbage. After boiling the cabbage its leaves are so tender and you have to be very careful not to tear them.
So, with a lot of patience I removed the leaves of the boiled cabbage one by one, and even more patiently I stuffed them with the mixture. The truth is that at the beginning the whole idea of making cabbage rolls seemed to me exhausting but in some way ended up being anxiolytic.
Maybe due to the origins of my cabbage, you see it came from my grandmother’s garden. When making the cabbage rolls I kept thinking the same thing: how much strength my grandmother still has? She cultivated such a wonderful garden on her own and I think that making some cabbage rolls is exhausting?
She cultivated the garden with so much love and patience, that, call me crazy, I think her love has passed to my dish as well. So remember to add love in everything you do. If not, do not do it at all.
Greek cabbage rolls recipe notes
My recipe was based on my mom’s recipe. It is one of these that she makes with the eye as we use to say in Greece, no notes, just her eyes.
It is best to start with boiling the cabbage in order to have time for cooling it so that you can remove its leaves without burning your hands. Otherwise, after its boiling you can add cold water, but you should refresh it 3-4 times as it will get warm.
As it concerns the rolling of the cabbage, at first you might don’t know how to properly roll it, but the leaves will show you the way. Have patience and love.
Greek cabbage rolls with egg lemon sauce
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Greek cabbage rolls with egg lemon sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cabbage
- 250 ml olive oil
- 1 lit vegetable broth
For the stuffing
- 500 gr ground beef
- 1 ¼ cup Carolina rice
- 2 carrots, grated
- 2 onion, chopped
- 2-3 tbsp tomato sauce
- 4 tbsp dill, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For egg lemon sauce
- 2 eggs
- 1-2 lemons, their juice
- 2-3 tbsp corn flour
Instructions
- By using a very sharp knife cut out the stem from the cabbage and then add it in a large soup pot with boiling water.
- Boil the cabbage on one side for ten minutes and then, by using a spoon, turn it over so as to soften well on the other side too.
- At the same time, finely chop the onion, dill and parsley while grate the carrots on the grater.
- In a large bowl add all the ingredients for the stuffing and mix well for 1-2 minutes.
- On a clean surface, lay a cabbage leaf vein side up with the stem end towards you. Cut the leaf stem to remove any thick spine remaining. Do not throw them away, we will add them to the saucepan in which the cabbage rolls will be cooked.
- To make the cabbage rolls, pick up one cabbage leaf at a time and add 1 heaping tablespoon of the mixture in the center. Fold the sides of the cabbage leaves inward and roll.
- On a large flat-bottomed saucepan add the remaining thick spines of the leaves and some leaves in order to cover the bottom of the saucepan. Then add the cabbage rolls.
- As soon as you create the first layer, add a second if necessary until you have added all of them.
- Invert a heatproof plate on top of the cabbage rolls so that the cabbage rolls don’t fall apart while cooking. Add hot vegetable broth and olive oil.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour. Remove from heat and wait for at least 15 minutes before using the broth from the pot for the egg-lemon sauce.
For making egg-lemon sauce
- By using a towel, we keep still the dish that is on the cabbage rolls and carefully pour the broth from the saucepan into a bowl. Set aside.
- In the lemon juice add corn flour and stir until it dissolves.
- In a bowl, whisk the egg and then add lemon juice while continuously whisking until the mixture thicken and become creamy.
- Add a ladleful of the broth to the bowl while continuously whisking. Add another 5-6 ladlefuls in the same manner. This helps temper the eggs.
- Once fully combined add the egg-lemon sauce into a small saucepan over medium heat and cook for 3-5 minutes in order to thicken more. Keep stirring.
- At the end add the egg-lemon sauce over the cabbage-rolls.
This was one of my favorite winter recipes. Super delicious, full of flavor and cooked with beloved ingredients.
I will be over the moon if you try this staple Greek recipe. I will be happy to hear from you either on Instagram, or Facebook or Twitter!
If you love cabbage recipes then sign up to Teti’s flakes newsletter to get my free ebook of the series “The flavors of the seasons“ for FREE! In the first ebook, named “Winter: the cabbage”, we will get to know 3 types of cabbage, key ingredients to pair them with and 5 recipes based on them.
If interested click here.
OMG! Your new blog look is amazing! As for this post, I didn’t know what to do first, read, drool over the photos, or look at the recipe! Well done!
Oh Annika thank you very VERY much for your comment! I have put a lot effort on the new version of the blog, – and still am, I have a lot of things to fix – and your comment gave me a huge boost! 😁😁😁
What glorious pictures Teti. I love them best with cabbage or lettuce. Your are absolutely magnificent and have done them justice with your pictures.
Thank you very much dear! I am very glad you liked it, you make me very happy! I really appreciate it! 😊😊😊