STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS WITH GROUND TURKEY & RICE

A desire for hearty but healthy, chilly weather dishes has me celebrating casseroles and bakes.

Using ground turkey instead of beef in these satisfying roll-ups is a healthy choice, while the use of a few canned ingredients (crushed tomato and diced green chilies) along with leftover cooked rice speeds up the prep. The filling is delicious—so good, you may be tempted to spoon it up on its own. But once the dish is finished in all its tomatoey glory, you’ll be glad you went through with the cabbage leaf tuck-roll-and-bake. So good.

Serves 8 to 10

INGREDIENTS

For cabbage casing

• 1 large head of fresh cabbage, leaves pulled off, washed, and separated

For filling

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup chopped portobello or white button mushrooms
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cored, and diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 3 slices uncured bacon, diced fine
• 2 cups cooked short-grain white rice
• 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 or 6 grinds fresh cracked pepper

For tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon crushed dried oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon crushed dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

For garnish

• 1/4 cup minced parsley

METHOD

Prep cabbage leaves

Heat 2 inches of water to boiling in a large pot. Place steamer basket into pot and add washed cabbage leaves. Cover and steam until leaves are bright green and pliable. Remove from stove top; rinse leaves with cool water. Set aside while you make filling.

Make filling

Place olive oil and onion in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until partially softened. Add mushroom, diced bell pepper, and garlic and continue cooking until soft. Add ground turkey and diced bacon, breaking up turkey with back of a spoon into small pieces. Continue cooking until no longer pink. Scoop mixture into a large bowl. Add cooked short-grain rice, diced green chilies, and parsley. Mix well. Set aside.

Prep tomato sauce

In a medium-sized bowl whisk tomato paste with olive oil, stir in crushed tomatoes. Stir in herbs and chili flakes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Make cabbage rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon a generous portion of tomato sauce into the bottom of an ovensafe casserole dish. On a clean work surface, place one cabbage leaf with bottom edge toward you. Spoon a generous portion of filling into the bottom edge of leaf. Lift bottom of leaf up over the filling, tucking and folding the sides of the leaf toward the middle. Roll up. Pin bottom flap of leaf shut with a toothpick if desired. Place cabbage roll over tomato sauce in casserole dish. Repeat with remaining cabbage leaves and filling. Spoon the rest of the tomato sauce over the top of the cabbage rolls. Cover casserole dish with foil. Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes until cabbage rolls are tender and tomato sauce is bubbling.

To serve

Spoon some tomato sauce onto each plate. Top with cabbage rolls (be sure to remove toothpicks if you used them). Sprinkle with minced parsley. Serve hot.