Inside Out Cabbage Rolls

When I was trying to decide what to make for a main dish on Superbowl Sunday that my husband would love, I thought of cabbage rolls.  They are one of his favourite foods and no big dinner can go by without them (Thanksgiving and Christmas for example).  I found a great recipe for Paleo Cabbage Rolls so I figured we were all set.  When I got to the grocery store however, there were no sour cabbage heads.  I had to think quick and improvise and it hit me that we could turn those babies inside out and they would still be pretty awesome.  Here is what I came up with.

                                                                        

Ingredients:

2 lbs extra lean ground beef (or bison)
1 red onion, chopped fine
2 eggs
2 tsp oregano
2 cloves garlic smashed, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 large can diced tomatoes (approx 700 ml)
1 small can sauerkraut (approx 400 ml)

How to:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Celsius
2. Puree the tomatoes using a hand held blender (or a food processor or blender whatever you have)
3. Mix together the first 5 ingredients.  Season with salt and pepper and mix in approx. 1/2 cup of the tomato puree.
4. Drain the sauerkraut, reserving the liquid.  Mix sauerkraut with 1/4 cup tomato puree.
5. Take a handful of the beef mixture and flatten into a patty about the size of your palm.  Put approx. 1tbsp of sauerkraut mixture into the center and roll up the edges of the beef patty around it.  Place on a rack in a roasting pan.  That's one, now continue the process until you have used up all of the beef mixture.
6. Cook, uncovered for 30 minutes.  Decrease the temp. to 350 degrees c.
7. Remove the rack from the pan and pour out any grease that has collected in the bottom.
8. Put the rolls back into the roasting pan without the rack this time.
6. Mix together the remaining tomato puree, sauerkraut mixture (if there is any left, if not don't worry about it) and the juice from the sauerkraut.  Pour over the 'cabbage rolls' and put back into the oven for another 30 - 60 minutes.

Serve these up on a big platter with the cooking juice on the side for dipping.

Variations:

- Wrap a piece of bacon around each roll before cooking.  You may have to cook them a bit longer than 30 minutes - when the bacon is browned you can drain off the fat and put them back into the pan.
- Serve with steamed suey choy leaves and wrap meat roll in a leaf before eating.  These would be good dipped in some red pepper paste.

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