With its crinkly texture, savoy cabbage is our go-to for stuffed cabbage, but the regular ol’ green variety also works. Both will become meltingly tender. The filling is a fragrant and tart mix of warm rice, buttery pine nuts, and lemony sour sumac. A dollop of sour cream is essential for balance (and pleasure).
4 servings
12–14
¾
¼
1
½
1
⅓
2
1
1
3
Line a baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel or a few layers of paper towels; set aside. Working in batches, cook cabbage leaves in a large pot of boiling generously salted water until bright green and pliable, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer leaves to a bowl of ice water to cool; reserve pot of water for cooking rice. Transfer cabbage leaves to prepared baking sheet and let drain.
Return water in pot to a boil and cook rice, stirring often, until grains swell and rise to the surface, 3–6 minutes (depending on quality of rice). Bite into a few grains to test; they should be al dente (rice will finish cooking when baked inside the cabbage). Drain rice and rinse under cold running water to stop it from cooking further. Drain again and transfer to a large bowl.
Wipe out pot. Pour in ¼ cup oil and set pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, 7–9 minutes. Add pine nuts and cook, stirring often, until nuts smell toasty and have slightly darkened in color and onion is almost jammy, about 5 minutes. Mix in herbs, raisins, and 2 Tbsp. sumac and cook, still stirring, until herbs have slightly darkened in color and are very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice; let cool 5 minutes.
Add onion mixture and egg to rice and mix well; season generously with salt and pepper. Wipe out pot; reserve. Working with 1 cabbage leaf at a time, cut out the thickest part of rib by making a thin V-shape; discard. Place 3 heaping Tbsp. filling in the center, running crosswise across leaf. Starting at the base where you cut the V, fold notched side of leaf up and over filling, then fold in sides and roll up leaf like a burrito.
Arrange cabbage rolls, seam side down, in a single layer in reserved pot. Add butter and ½ cup water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and steam rolls until filling is cooked through and leaves are tender, 18–25 minutes.
Divide cabbage rolls among plates; drizzle with oil and sprinkle with sumac and pepper. Serve with sour cream.
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