Italian Sausage Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Italian Sausage Stuffed Cabbage Rolls are very simple with just Italian sausage, leek, carrots, and garlic,4 baked in a white wine reduction. They are a light, yet filling dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 head Savoy cabbage
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage can use mild if you prefer
- 1 small leek diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped small
- 2 medium carrots diced small
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot chopped small
- 1 cup dry white wine an unoaked Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc
- ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
- 3-4 Tablespoons butter
- parmiggianno-reggiano freshly grated
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. See notes for a non-fussy version of these flavors!
- Place the whole cabbage in a large pot with about ¾ cup salted water. Steam until it is barely tender, about 15-20 minutes. You can use a vegetable steamer if you want, but it's not required. Remove the cabbage to a platter to cool before you peel away the leaves.
- While the cabbage is steaming and cooling, brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the leek, garlic, and carrots, and let them cook about 10 minutes, just till they are getting tender. Turn off the heat and reserve.
- In a large skillet that can go in the oven, add the olive oil, then the diced shallot, allowing it cook on medium to medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Carefully, pour the wine into the skillet or saucepan to deglaze and cook off the alcohol. Add the chopped basil. Turn off the heat and reserve. If you don't have a skillet that can go in the oven, saute the shallots in a small pot, then use a baking dish to bake the cabbage rolls in. Just put the rolls in the dish, then pour the shallot mixture over before baking.
- Peel away the leaves of the cabbage, spoon some sausage mixture onto one at a time, folding the edges in before rolling it closed. Place the cabbage rolls on top of the white wine sauce, spooning some sauce over each roll as you place it in the skillet. Keep rolling and filling the skillet.
- Put the skillet in the oven for 10 minutes. Check to be sure the skillet still has plenty of liquid. Add more if necessary. Leave the skillet in the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the oven. If the pan is dry, add more white wine, then add the butter in three or four pieces. Cover the cabbage rolls with the Parmiggiano-Reggiano.
- Return the skillet to the oven, baking just till the cheese is melted and golden, about 15 minutes. Sometimes, I put on the broiler at the last minute just to get more golden on the cheese!
Notes
A suggestion for non-fussy cooks: You might think this sounds really delicious, but that there's no way you'd steam a whole head of cabbage, never mind rolling the filling into the leaves! If these flavors sound delicious to you, I recommend cutting some cabbage into shreds and sauteing it with the sausage, leek, carrots, and garlic, then deglaze the skillet with the white wine, sprinkle the basil over, and eat it just like that. This makes it a one-skillet dinner! It would be delicious with rice and don't forget the Parmesan cheese!
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