Stuffed Savoy Cabbage - German Recipe

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 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.

However, even if my mother-in-law cooks these cabbage rolls more often than I do, I did cook this recipe myself quite often, it is one of my husband's favorite dishes. And I don't think I have ever made this dish and not invited my brother-in-law to eat with us when we had it.

How to make?

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, 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 of the filling onto the middle-lower part of the leaf, fold the right and left side over the filling and roll the parcel starting at the base. Place 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 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:

Hunter Schnitzel - Classic German Jägerschnitzel with Mushroom Sauce

Classic German Beef Roulades with Gherkins and Bacon

German Meatballs in Caper White Sauce - Königsberger Klopse

German Lentil Potato Soup with Vienna Sausages 

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

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 496kcal

Author: Adina

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 large Savoy cabbage
• ▢ 60 g/ 2.1 oz day-old white bread
• ▢ 400 g/ 14 oz minced meat a mixture of beef and pork
• ▢ 1 small onion
• ▢ 2 teaspoons mustard
• ▢ 1 pinch of sweet paprika powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ▢ 500 ml/ 2 cups beef or chicken stock
• ▢ 250 ml/ 1 cup milk
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ fine sea salt and pepper
• ▢ potatoes to serve

Instructions

Prepare leaves:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• 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.
• 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.
• Place the minced 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.
• 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 side over the filling, and roll the parcel starting at the base. Place 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 I've never done it, it always worked well.
• Repeat to form all the rolls.

Cook:

• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or a deeper pan large enough to hold all the rolls in one layer.
• Fry the rolls on all sides, they should be 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.
• In the meantime cook the potatoes in salted water.
• When the cabbage rolls are cooked, carefully remove them from the pot. Place on a platter and keep them warm.

Sauce:

• Add the milk to the cooking liquid in the pan. Bring to boil.
• 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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