Delicate beetroot cabbage rolls
Delicious and juicy, big or small, in a fragrant thick sauce ... It's all about cabbage rolls - a dish that is prepared with pleasure both for holidays and just for dinner. For those who want to surprise their loved ones with the unusual taste of a familiar dish, we suggest making stuffed cabbage rolls from beet leaves.
Cabbage leaves are traditionally used for stuffed cabbage. However, quite often housewives have to make a lot of effort to find a suitable head of cabbage. After all, the leaves should be thin so that the filling can be easily wrapped in them. And too dense leaves take longer to cook. And the very process of their separation from the head of cabbage is a separate story altogether.
Therefore, having once tried to make cabbage rolls from beet tops, many stop at this option. Thanks to the soft structure of the beet leaves, they fold easily and the dish itself cooks faster. The darlings are small, but it's even more convenient - you don't need to cut them into pieces. Otherwise, cabbage rolls are prepared in the same way as with cabbage leaves. We offer several recipes for stuffed cabbage rolls in beet leaves.
To make the beet tops softer and easier to curl up, experienced housewives advise to keep them in the refrigerator for several days before cooking cabbage rolls.
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Beetroot duckies
- The first step is to cook the rice for the filling. For this, 1 tbsp. rice, pre-washed, pour 2 tbsp. water and simmer for 15 minutes until half cooked.
- While the rice is cooking, you can make a gravy blank. Chop two onions and two carrots and fry in oil in a deep frying pan.
- At the end of frying, add 2 tablespoons to the gravy. l. tomato paste or 2 fresh tomatoes.
- Separately, finely chop 3 cloves of garlic and set aside.
- Select 20 pcs. whole beet leaves, without damage, cut off the cuttings and pour boiling water over for 5 minutes.
- Drain the water and cut off the thickenings along the center on each leaf.
- Add 300 g of minced meat to ready-made rice, season with salt and pepper to taste. Delicious cabbage rolls are made from ground pork and beef, but other types can be used.
- To form cabbage rolls from beet leaves, a little filling should be placed in the part of the leaf where the cutting was, and twisted, tucking the edges. If the leaf is torn a little, you can fold the two sheets together so that the holes overlap.
- Place the cabbage rolls in a pan on top of the gravy, pour hot water so that it practically covers the cabbage rolls. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes, adding 2 lavrushki and chopped garlic at the end.
Cabbage rolls in beetroot leaves with gravy of cuttings
This recipe is distinguished by its originality. Instead of tomato paste, cuttings are added to the gravy with which cabbage rolls are poured. You can use both cuttings and tomato paste if desired.
Stuffed cabbage rolls with beet leaves are prepared as follows:
- Cut off the cuttings from the leaves, chop them finely and set aside for now.
- Dip the leaves themselves in hot water for 5 minutes, then remove and let the excess water drain.
- Boil rice.
- Cut two large onions into cubes.
- Pour half the onion into 300 g of minced meat, add 300 g of boiled rice and salt to taste.
- Roll stuffed cabbage rolls out of beet leaves and put them in a cauldron.
- Fry the remaining onions in a pan in oil, adding the chopped cuttings from the beet tops.
- Put the dressing on top of the cabbage rolls, add water (to cover them) and cook for 25-30 minutes, pre-salting.
Unfortunately, fresh beet tops are only available in season. After the autumn harvest of root crops, the leaves become scarce, since they are not sold on the market. However, enterprising hostesses have found a way out of this situation and are harvesting tops for future use for the winter.
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Beet tops for cabbage rolls for the winter
So, in order to pickle beet leaves for the winter, put on the bottom of a liter jar:
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 1 lavrushka;
- 3 peas of black and allspice;
- horseradish root (small piece).
Pour water into a wide saucepan and bring to a boil. Fold the beetroot leaves in batches of 5 pieces and, holding the stalks, put them in boiling water for 30 seconds. Place on a cutting board or plate to cool slightly.
Cut off the petioles, and fold each sheet as follows - first in half, pressing the tip of the sheet to the attachment point of the cutting, then twist it with a roll. One at a time, carefully place the rolls in the jar as tightly as possible.
Pour hot water over a jar filled with leaves to determine how much liquid you need for the marinade. Drain the water into a saucepan and cook the marinade on it, adding:
- 2 tsp salt;
- 2 tsp Sahara;
- 1/3 tsp citric acid (at the end).
Pour the boiling marinade into a jar, cover with a lid and sterilize the workpiece for 10 minutes. Roll up, wrap up.
With such a blank on hand, you can cook stuffed cabbage rolls from beet leaves at any time of the year. And to make the dish even tastier, when serving cabbage rolls, they are poured with sour cream or mayonnaise - whoever likes it. Cook with pleasure, eat with gusto!
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