Grandma's Cabbage Casserole
When the air gets that cooler fall feeling and leaves start to change to fall colors, my mind wanders to casseroles and soups. My all time favorite fall casserole growing up was my mother’s cabbage casserole. It is relatively common in Finland and there are probably as many recipes as there are cooks. This past weekend I made one using the recipe that I copied from my mother’s recipe book over 25 years ago. In it you actually pre-cook the cabbage before adding it to the casserole, which makes it so much softer and milder. The casserole literally melts in your mouth.
If you decide to try this recipe, don’t be too restricted by it. As you will see the measurements are approximate and it leaves a lot for interpretation. I also left the measurements in metrics as per the original recipe. The recipe calls adding the ground beef into the mix uncooked, but I did brown mine first as I like the crustier meat. My cabbage was bigger than the suggested 2 1/4 lbs., but it didn’t make a difference. I just ended up using two separate baking dishes to bake it. It also tastes even better warmed up the following day, so no worries if you have left overs.
This casserole is typically served with lingonberry preserves, which bring some brightness to the dish.
INGREDIENTS:
1-2 Tbsp butter
1 whole cabbage (about 1 kg)
1 dl uncooked Arborio rice
1-2 onions
water
salt
400 g ground beef
ground white pepper
marjoram
dark corn syrup ( about 1 tbsp)
1 dl heavy cream
STEPS:
Heat your oven to 200 C/ 400 F
Slice the cabbage into thin strips and dice the onion(s)
On the stove top, melt the butter in a large casserole, add the cabbage, onion(s), rice, salt and enough water that the mixture won’t stick to the bottom (keep checking on the water while the mixture cooks, you don’t want burned cabbage). Simmer on a medium low heat until the cabbage has softened and the rice cooked.
Remove from heat and add the meat, cream and spices. Mix well.
Pour the mixture to an oven safe baking casserole that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and a pinch of sugar.
Bake for 1 hour.
Enjoy!