Michelle on Nostr: My (Hungarian) uncle sent me pictures of recipes from one of his Hungarian cookbooks ...

My (Hungarian) uncle sent me pictures of recipes from one of his Hungarian cookbooks but I don't know the name of the book. I've copied the recipe below. I did variation II with making the roux first. STUFFED CABBAGE, BASIC RECIPE

T'öltött káposzta



¼ cup uncooked rice

I pound lean pork, ground ½ pound lean beef, ground 2 garlic cloves, mashed

2 medium-sized onions, chopped fine

I egg

I tablespoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

I head of fresh cabbage (see

Note)

2 pounds sauerkraut (see Note)

½ cup tomato juice

½ pound smoked pork butt,

sliced

2 tablespoons lard

2 tablespoons flour

½ cup sour cream

6 t0 I2 servings

2 tablespoons paprika

I. Cook rice in ½ cup water for 10 minutes. Drain.

2. Thoroughly mix the ground pork and beef with garlic, half of the onion, the egg, salt, pepper, i tablespoon of the paprika and the drained rice.

Put stuffing mixture aside.

1 Core the cabbage and cook the cabbage head in enough water to cover it for 1o to I5 minutes.

2 Gently take apart the cabbage, leaf by leaf. Cut out heavy veins if any.

3 Use a large oval casserole, about 6 inches high, 16 inches long and 8 to Io inches wide, or a round one of similar size. Put sauerkraut in the casserole with tomato juice and sliced pork butt in enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook for s minutes.

4 Fill cabbage leaves with the stuffing mixture; with well-floured hands form rolls. Do not make the rolls too tight, for the stuffing will expand in cooking. Pinch the ends of the rolls together to seal them. (Leftover stuffing can be made into meatballs.) Cut remaining cabbage leaves into fine shreds and add to the casserole.

5 1 Make room in the sauerkraut with a wooden spoon, and place the cabbage rolls in it. Cook covered over very low heat for I hour.

6 Meantime, make a roux out of hot lard, flour and remaining chopped onion. Cook it for about to minutes, until golden yellow. Turn off heat, stir in I tablespoon paprika, and whip it up with I cup cold water.

7 Very gently remove the stuffed cabbage rolls from the casserole. Take out a ladleful of sauerkraut broth and whip it into the roux. Return this liquid thickening to main casserole, stirring it well. Bring to a boil.

8 IO. Put back the stuffed cabbage leaves, cover the casserole, and finish in a

9 350°F. oven for 15 minutes.

10 II. Before serving, pour sour cream over the casserole, making sure not to break cabbage leaves.

11 • NoTE: T'his basic recipe uses a fresh cubbage bead, since the United States housewife will not be able to find whole sour cabbage heads, except possibly in New York's Lower East Side.

12 If you must use canned sauerkraut, always remember to eliminate its cook. ing time from these recipes, since canned sauerkraut is already cooked.

13 VARIATIONS:

14 I. Fry I chopped onion in ¼ pound diced bacon for s minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of marjoram, then proceed to mix with other stuffing ingredi ents.

15 II. Start with roux; add sauerkraut, and slowly cook it for Is minutes.

16 Proceed preparing the stuffed leaves and cook as directed above.

17 IlI. Fry I chopped onion in I tablespoon lard for 5 minutes. Add sauer-kraut, I tablespoon paprika and the stuffed leaves. When cooked, mix sauerkraut with sour-cream and flour mixture.

18 IV. In Transylvania they often add a handful of fresh dill and a glass of white wine in addition to the usual ingredients.

19 V. Hajdukáposzta

20 Use I pound ground pork; I chopped small onion, fried; I tablespoon paprika; I tablespoon minced fresh marjoram; 1 egg and some salt for stuff-ing. Fill sour cabbage leaves.

21 Fry another chopped small onion in 3 tablespoons lard; add I pound sauerkraut and the stuffed leaves. Add enough water to cover.

22 Top with I pound meaty smoked slab bacon and I pound smoked Debrecen sausage and possibly a smoked rack of pork, Sprinkle with sour cream when serving. The important ingredients here are the Debrecen sausage and the smoked meats.