Flashback Friday: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Joining Suzy from Kitchen Bouquet for another Flashback Friday! Visit Suzy and see the other flashbacks that are linked up to Flashback Friday. Join in with your own flashback!

I'm flashing back to a really easy Stuffed Cabbage Roll recipe. I originally found it when I was just starting to cook, after years of takeout. We were missing my Grandma's Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, which she called Holishkes, and there was no recipe of hers to be found. I wanted my kids to know all the ethnic foods I had grown up with and loved so I set out to find a recipe for the rolls. In the process, I learned to cook. I learned to love to cook.

My first thought was ordering in the rolls from the Delicatessen! Grandma never would have appreciated takeout, I was sure of that! So I set out to learn. I looked up recipes on the Internet. I asked around. We ate a lot of stuffed cabbage rolls for a while. Between the internet and asking anyone and everyone for a recipe, my friend's mom came close. At least I think it did and if it wasn't exactly like I remembered, it was good, really good. I sat in her kitchen, writing it all down, watching her every move. A little of this, a little of that! So many similar recipes. Some involved. Some not so involved. I went with the easy one, the one that tasted good and was made with love. Thanks, Sydelle! Your recipe has become part of my family!

Not my Grandma's but it's very close, it's easy and it tastes great! Pure comfort food. Brings back some great memories. A very  good flashback. and now I have to make it again soon!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Holishkes)
Source: Syd M
Printable Recipe

2 heads green cabbage
2 pounds chopped meat
1 egg
2 slices white bread slices, soaked in water and then squeeze out the water
3 cans tomato sauce (I think she meant the small ones but I use the 15 oz size)
1/4 cup rice (uncooked)
1 cup brown sugar, more or less to taste
garlic powder, to taste

Some optional ingredients I found along the way:
Raisins (not for me)
crushed gingersnaps (someone else's mother suggested this!)
a big squeeze or two of fresh lemon juice (1 lemon)

Boil the cabbage for a few minutes to soften, and when it's cooled, remove the outer leaves. You can also freeze the cabbage heads overnight, but who has room in the freezer for two heads of cabbage?

In a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven, combine two cans of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar, lemon juice and raisins, if you're using them, and some garlic powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Taste to see if you need more sugar, garlic or lemon juice. Add crushed gingersnaps if you want, I got that idea when I was checking out recipes. I tried it a few times, but now I don't bother!

Mix meat, eggs, bread, 1/2 can tomato sauce, rice and about 1/3 cup brown sugar. Make a small meatball  and place it near the stem end of the leaf, fold stem over the filling, fold in the sides and roll it up firmly. Envelope style. Place the cabbage rolls carefully in the sauce (seam side down) and add chopped pieces of the cabbage and raisins if you want. Simmer at low for 1 1/2 hours or more, I let it simmer for a long while. If you see that there is not enough sauce, add more tomato sauce.

Serve with challah to soak up the extra sauce!

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