Cabbage Rolls Stuffed with Beef and Rice with Sweet-and-Sour Sauce Recipe

Core the cabbage. Carefully separate the leaves. Blanch 16 large leaves in boiling water for about 1 minute, or until bright green and just softened. Immediately refresh the blanched leaves in ice water. Drain and reserve.

Chop some of the remaining leaves to make 4 cups [960 mL] of chopped cabbage and reserve.

Mix the ground beef with the garlic, salt, pepper, and rice. Divide this mixture into sixteen 2-ounce [55-g] balls. Using moistened hands, form the balls into cylinders.

Place a cylinder of filling near the bottom of a cabbage leaf. Begin to roll it up, fold in the sides, and complete rolling to enclose the filling. Continue, filling all the cabbage leaves. Place them, seam side down, on a tray. Reserve, covered and refrigerated.

Melt the butter in a heavy, nonreactive saucepan large enough to hold the sauce and cabbage rolls. Sauté the onion until soft and golden. Add the reserved chopped cabbage and sauté briefly.

Add the tomato juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine. Increase the heat and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.

Add the reserved cabbage rolls to the sauce, lower the heat to a very low simmer, and cover, leaving a small gap for steam to escape. Cook 1½ hours.

Remove the lid, add the raisins, if desired, and simmer 30 minutes more, or until the filling is tender and the rice is cooked. This dish is more flavorful if made one day in advance and held refrigerated.

Serve 2 cabbage rolls per person, topped with ample sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley.