Sukkot Recipe Box:Cabbage & Meatballs
Hey KS Fans,
It seems that every person I know is making gefilte kraut (stuffed cabbage) for the up coming Sukkos holidays. My grandmother makes the most delicious recipe and as a kid I remember sitting at her kitchen table watching her wrap those cabbage leaves with her quick & nimble fingers, making what seemed like hundreds of these meat filled packages.
Till this day, you can find my grandmother in her kitchen making her giflte kraut, which she happily serves to anyone at anytime when you visit her kitchen in Queens. In my life time, I alone have personally consumed too many to keep count from her HUGE pot of boiling kraut that is perpetually on her stove top. However, I find the job of making these giflte kraut a tedious one, that requires time and patience in the kitchen that I just usually don’t have.
But this easy Cabbage & Meatball recipe is the answer to all my food dreams of my grandmothers delicious dish.
For those of you who have been following my recipes, my 2 cookbooks and general good food hob-session, you know that this cabbage & meatball recipe that I got from my Aunt Rochie is one of my all time favorites ! Today, I decided to put up a whole batch for yom tov. Normally, I am not a fan of freezing food if I do not have to, but these meatballs I think, actually taste even better when they have been made in advance and frozen. I serve them up as an appetizer or main course during the holidays and you can usually find me in the kitchen sometime during the meal, eating just the sauce with a spoon from the leftovers in the pot!
1 lb ground beef
½ cup Matzo Meal
1 egg
1 tsp. kosher salt
Pinch pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 bags Shredded White Cabbage
1 cup ketchup
16 oz tomato sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
4 cups water
In a large mixing bowl add your first 6 ingredients, blend together well. This is your meatball mixture. Set aside.
Add the rest of your ingredients into a large soup pot and set onto a med-low flame.
While your cabbage sauce is starting boil, form your meatballs and add to the cabbage sauce mixture. Let meatballs and sauce cook on med low flame for about 1 ½ hours. Remove from flame and serve hot.
Your recipie looks delish and a lot easier than making tradtional stuffed cabbage. However, I am gluten-intolerant and can’t eat matzo meal. What would be a good subsitute? Would a grated potato work? Thanks.
Hi meryl- I did not see this comment till right now- so sorry- as far as substituting – def can use potato – one of may aunts tricks for pesach is using instant mash potatoes instead of rice or breadcrumbs in her meatballs
I love the way the sauce sounds, but I don’t think my kids will eat the cabbage. Do you think there’s any way to substitute rice? In what proportions? Thanks!
Stacy – i think you can def substitute rice – as far as proportions – it is a little tricky – because the rice will soak up the tomato sauce – so my suggestion is to do one of 2 things
sarah
1. cook rice separate and serve with just the meatballs in sauce
2. start with 1 cup of rice to cook in the sauce if you see that it was too little when you make the next time add more
shana tova
do you cook it covered or uncovereD? thanks, looks great!
Cook covered