Cabbage Rolls in the Oven in Tomato-Sour Cream Sauce

Appetizing, literally melting in the mouth, and definitely juicy, as they were baked immersed in gravy - this is how cabbage rolls in the oven in tomato-sour cream sauce are imagined.

The moisture of the minced meat with rice is enhanced by vegetable frying, and the tender leaves of cabbage, which have become elastic after heat treatment, reliably hold all the juice inside the little cabbage rolls. Moreover, the tomato-sour cream sauce penetrates into all the gaps, contributing to an additional influx of juiciness not only to the filling but also to the wrapping leaves.

Yield: 12 servings.

Preparation time: 90 minutes.

Caloric content: 85 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Ingredients

• whole cabbage of any size (not all will be used, if the head is large) - 1 pc;
• beef meat - 650 g;
• round-grain rice - 100 g;
• onion - 140 g;
• carrot - 70 g;
• flour - 20 g;
• pureed tomatoes - 200 ml;
• sour cream 20% - 70 g;
• salt, pepper, vegetable oil.

Preparation

1. To easily remove the cabbage leaves from the head, cut out the core by trimming it around.

2. Place the head base down in boiling water.

3. As it boils, the upper leaves will begin to curl and separate from the center. It is convenient to remove them with tweezers or tongs, without taking the cabbage out of the pot. This way, access to the next leaves is freed - gradually collect the required amount, and the remaining head can be used, for example, for stewing.

4. Dice the onion. Grate the carrot finely.

5. Rinse the rice and pour in just enough water to cover it. Once it boils, stir it with a spoon, preventing it from sticking to the bottom, and immediately remove from heat, covering with a lid. This way, the rice will be about 80% cooked.

6. Slightly sauté the onion in oil.

7. Add the carrot and just warm it through.

8. Pass the beef through a meat grinder and combine it with the rice and half of the sauté. Mix well, seasoning with salt and pepper at the same time.

9. Cut off the lower part of the cabbage leaf. Place a full spoon of filling on the denser side.

10. One of the ways to shape the cabbage rolls is to roll them up like a tube with open ends.

11. Then tuck the ends inward.

12. If the leaves are very large, they can be cut along, bypassing the central thick vein.

13. After placing the filling, fold the cabbage roll like an envelope, immediately tucking the ends in.

14. Do not throw away the trimmings of the cabbage leaves, but lay them at the bottom of the dish - they will create a kind of vegetable cushion that will protect the items from burning.

15. Pack the cabbage rolls tightly in a single layer.

16. Finish preparing the sour cream-tomato sauce. For this, dissolve a teaspoon of salt and flour in water. Since the water is salty, the flour will easily dissolve without leaving lumps.

17. Pour tomato into the remaining sauté. Warm everything through.

18. Add sour cream.

19. Pour in another glass of water, bring the sauce to a boil.

20. Stir the water with flour again and pour it into the pan. No need to add salt - there is enough. Wait for the mixture to thicken, stirring constantly (about 2-3 minutes).

21. Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish with foil, leaving small openings for steam to escape, and place in the oven.

22. At 200 degrees without convection, simmer the cabbage rolls for 50 minutes. Then remove the foil and brown the tops of the cabbage rolls and sauce for another 10 minutes.

To quickly prepare cabbage rolls in the oven in tomato-sour cream sauce at any moment, the prepared semi-finished products should be frozen, and then simply baked together with the sauce.

When serving, generously top the hot cabbage rolls with sour cream.