Stuffed Savoy Cabbage - German Recipe

Last Updated on 05/07/2023 by Adina

Traditional German stuffed savoy cabbage rolls with minced meat served with a comforting white sauce and boiled potatoes.

This recipe for stuffed Savoy cabbage is another one of those German recipes, which, although I have eaten quite often in all the years I have been living here in Germany, I have actually rarely cooked myself.

Why? Well, this is another mother-in-law's standard recipe. Whenever my husband or his brother crave these rolls, they ask their Mama.

Some other of her cherished recipes are, for instance, this German Leek and Cheese Soup with Ground Pork, this German Beef Soup with Egg Custard and Marrow Dumplings, this Salad Torte with Vegetables, Ham and Cheese, or this German Cabbage Salad with Creme Fraiche and Herbs.

How to Savoy cabbage rolls?

Savoy cabbage:

• You will not need quite the whole Savoy cabbage for this recipe. I usually prepare more leaves than needed, just to make sure that I have enough when ready to form the rolls. Some leaves will be smaller or will break while you handle them, so make sure you have enough blanched savoy leaves to fix these issues.

Blanch the leaves:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt.
• Remove the first outer leaves of the cabbage in case they are wilted or have holes, and carefully remove the leaves by cutting them off the core.
• Blanch the leaves until wilted, about 2-3 minutes; remove from the water with a slotted spoon and let drain well. Pat them dry with kitchen paper before filling them.

Make the filling:

• Soak the white bread in a little water.
• Place the minced meat, finely chopped onion, mustard, sweet paprika powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
• Squeeze the bread well to remove the excess moisture and add to the bowl as well.
• Mix everything very well together.

Form the cabbage rolls:

• Work carefully; the blanched Savoy cabbage leaves are more tender than those of white cabbage, and they will be more likely to break.
• If that happens, don't worry; use some of the extra blanched leaves to cover the holes.
• Do the same if the leaves are too small; just overlap two or even three leaves to obtain a larger surface to fill.
• These particular cabbage rolls are generally a bit larger than the typical white cabbage or sauerkraut rolls that I make.
• You should have 8 rolls.
• Place some filling onto the middle-lower part of the leaf, fold the right and left sides over the filling, and roll the parcel starting at the base. Place the seam down on a plate.
• Some people bind the rolls with cooking string. You could do it if you are unsure that the rolls will hold their shape, but personally, I have never done it; it always worked well. Repeat to form all the rolls.

Cook:

• Heat the oil in a round Dutch oven or a deeper pan large enough to hold all the rolls in one layer.
• Fry the rolls on all sides until become golden brown all over.
• Pour the stock into the pan, cover, and bring to a boil.
• Turn the heat down to low and simmer the cabbage rolls for about 25 minutes.
• Remove from the pan and keep warm while you make the sauce.

Sauce:

• Add the milk to the cooking liquid in the pan. Bring to a boil.
• In the meantime, stir the cornstarch with a little water to form a paste.
• Slowly pour this mixture into the pot while whisking continuously.
• Let bubble a couple of times. Add some gratings of nutmeg and adjust the taste with salt and pepper.

How to serve?

Definitely, with boiled salted potatoes, there is no other way. 🙂

Leftovers?

• The leftover stuffed savoy cabbage rolls can be gently reheated in a little broth.
• The sauce should be reheated separately. Add some milk when reheating to make it thinner again.
• And what to do with the leftover Savoy cabbage? How about a nice German Savoy Cabbage Soup with Ground Meat and Potatoes.

Other traditional German main dishes

Stuffed Savoy Cabbage - German Recipe

Traditional German stuffed savoy cabbage rolls with minced meat served with a comforting white sauce and boiled potatoes.

4.67 from 3 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: German

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 496kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

• ▢
  Dutch oven or a deeper pan large enough to hold the rolls in a single layer

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 large Savoy cabbage
• ▢ 2 oz day-old white bread 60 g
• ▢ 14 oz ground meat a mixture of beef and pork, 400 g
• ▢ 1 small onion
• ▢ 2 teaspoons mustard
• ▢ 1 pinch of sweet paprika powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ▢ 2 cups beef or chicken stock 500 ml
• ▢ 1 cup whole milk 250 ml
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ fine sea salt and pepper
• ▢ potatoes to serve

Instructions

Prepare leaves:

• Boil water: Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Cabbage leaves: In the meantime, remove the wilted outer leaves from the Savoy cabbage and carefully remove the leaves by cutting them off the core. The recipe will make 8 rolls, but you will need to prepare more leaves; you will sometimes need 2 or 3 leaves to form a roll.
• Blanch cabbage leaves: When the water boils, add some salt and blanch the leaves until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Drain well. Pat them dry with kitchen paper before filling them.

Filling:

• Soak the white bread in a little warm water. Chop the onion very finely.
• Combine filling: Place the ground meat, onion, mustard, sweet paprika powder, salt, and pepper into a bowl and mix well. Squeeze the bread well to remove the excess moisture, and add it to the bowl as well. Mix everything very well together.

Fill and roll:

• Lay one large Savoy cabbage leaf on the working surface. If the leaves are too small or broken, overlap 2 or 3 cabbage leaves.
• Fill: Divide the filling into 8 portions and form 8 cabbage rolls. Place some filling onto the middle-lower part of the leaf, fold the right and left sides over the filling, and roll the parcel starting at the base. Place them seam down on a plate.

  Repeat to form all the rolls.
• Tip: Some people bind the rolls with cooking string. You could do it if you are unsure that the rolls will hold their shape, but I've never done it, it always worked well.

Cook:

• Heat the oil in a pan large enough to hold all the rolls in one layer.
• Fry the rolls on all sides; they should be golden brown all over.
• Simmer: Pour the stock into the pan, cover, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer the cabbage rolls for about 25 minutes.
• In the meantime, cook the potatoes in salted water.
• Keep warm: When the cabbage rolls are cooked, carefully remove them from the pot. Place them on a platter and keep them warm.

Sauce:

• Add the milk to the cooking liquid in the pan. Bring to a boil.
• Cornstarch slurry: In the meantime stir the cornstarch with a little water to form a paste. Slowly pour into the pot while whisking continuously.
• Let bubble a couple of times. Add some gratings of nutmeg and adjust the taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve immediately with boiled potatoes.

Notes

The nutrition is calculated including the sauce but not the potatoes.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cabbage rolls with sauce | Calories: 496kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 703mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g

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