afoona
Classic Stuffed Cabbage in Lemon Sauce
Meat

Classic Stuffed Cabbage in Lemon Sauce

Cabbage stuffed with meat and rice, cooked in a delicate, tangy lemon sauce – a light, tasty version with no tomatoes. A traditional dish that's even better the next day.

⏱ 1 hr 35 min🍽 4 servings 🌍 Middle Eastern👩‍🍳 Afoona🧩 2 parts
🥩 Meat🌾 Gluten-free

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meatball mix

  1. 1
    Mix the ground meat with the onion, parsley, cumin, paprika, turmeric, rice, olive oil, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.

To assemble

  1. 2
    Put the whole cabbage into a pot of boiling water and peel off the leaves one by one as they soften. Let cool.
    StoveWide, shallow potTongs
  2. 3
    Remove the tough vein from each leaf.
    KnifeCutting board
  3. 4
    Place a little of the mixture in the center of each leaf, fold in both sides and roll up.
  4. 5
    Arrange the rolls tightly in a wide pot, seam side down.
    Wide, shallow pot
  5. 6
    Mix the stock, sugar, lemon juice and salt and pour over the rolls.
  6. 7
    Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 45–50 minutes, until the rice and meat are done.
    ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid
    💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
521calories
24 gprotein
41 gcarbs
27 gfat
● protein 19%● carbs 33%● fat 48%

Per serving (580 g), of 4 servings

For the Meatball mix · To assemble ·

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⚖ About the ingredients

🔧 Tools needed (6) · 🍳 One cooking vessel

  • Stove · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Portable hot plate (one weaker burner) · Camping gas stove (One burner, outdoors) · Electric pressure cooker (multicooker) (One pot, no real shallow frying)
  • Lid · Also works: Aluminum foil (tight aluminum foil) · Plate (an upside-down plate)
  • Wide, shallow pot · Also works: Deep skillet (sauté pan) (None) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Pot (Layers instead of a single layer)
  • Cutting board · Also works: Plate (Large plate, dulls the knife)
  • Knife · Also works: Food processor (Fast, less control over size) · Kitchen shears (For herbs/dough)
  • Tongs · Also works: Turner (None) · 💡 Workaround, changes the dish: Fork (Pierces the meat)

By the steps, as the recipe is built now: another version or addition can change the list.

🧩 Built from…

Meatball mix → Stuffed Leaves

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