Stuffed Cabbage with homemade tomato paste

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade tomato paste ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Wash the tomatoes, remove the cores and quarter each tomato.

   KnifeCutting board
2. 2
   Put the tomatoes, the salt and half of the olive oil in a wide pot, cover and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and release their liquid.

   StoveWide, shallow pot
3. 3
   Pass the tomatoes and their liquid through a food mill or sieve and return the purée to the pot: the skins and seeds stay behind.

   Food millorFine sieve
4. 4
   Cook uncovered about an hour at a lively simmer, stirring now and then, until the purée reduces by half.

   StoveWooden spoon

   💡The paste burns easily as it dries: stir and scrape the bottom and edges, and once it is thick, don't walk away.
5. 5
   Preheat the oven to 110°C (230°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
6. 6
   Grease a wide baking dish with the rest of the olive oil and pour in the purée in a thin layer. Dry in the oven about 3 hours, stirring and scraping the edges every 30 minutes, until the paste is thick, sticky and brick red.

   OvenBaking sheetSilicone spatula
7. 7
   Let the paste cool.

   Jar

For the Meatball mix

1. 8
   Blanch the cabbage in hot water and leave it to drain overnight.

   StoveLarge potColander
2. 9
   Separate the leaves by cutting off the base of the cabbage.

   KnifeCutting board
3. 10
   Mix the ground meat with the onion, rice, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.

To assemble

1. 11
   Make the sauce ahead: mix the tomato paste, stock, paprika and salt.

   Bowl
2. 12
   Place a tablespoon to a tablespoon and a half of the filling on each leaf, depending on the size of the leaf, and fold the leaf: first the sides, then from the wide end to the narrow end.
3. 13
   Place the rolls in a large pot with the oil on the bottom. Chop the rest of the cabbage and scatter it in the pot.

   Large potKnifeCutting board
4. 14
   Cook a few minutes over high heat, then pour the sauce into the pot.

   Stove
5. 15
   Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook about 20 minutes to soften the vegetables.

   Stove
6. 16
   After cooling, transfer to a baking dish and bake in the oven about half an hour at high heat.

   OvenBaking pan