Pork Cabbage Involtini
Warning: Winter night comfort food overload!!
When I think of cabbage I do not necessarily think of Italians. However, many Europeans have different a variation of a meat-filled cabbage roll. Italy has their involtini di cavolo (rolls of cabbage) too! It’s actually a lot easier than it looks. And the act of rolling the cabbage was quite therapeutic.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while you may have noticed that I love one-skillet meals. You also know that I love the convenience of not washing a million dishes after cooking. It’s pretty hard for me to sit comfortably with a meal if dirty pots and pans are all over the kitchen. Although recently I’ve been so tired that it’s getting easier to ignore. My “screw this” kitchen mode gets turned on more often than not lately. 
Can we take a hot second to appreciate how beautiful this food is? I don’t mean to boast – photography is not my thing – but the cabbage just looks so gorgeous. The veins in each layer are really incredible. They also give great texture to the food, so it’s not slippery when holding the meat or sauce. Mmmm…little meat pillows. Wait… what?
Okay, time to cook! Remember my soffritto recipe? Well we’re gonna use it in the pork. So get your minced carrots, onions, and celery sauteed. That’s going to be our flavor base for the pork before we roll those meat pillows up.
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 egg whisked
- 1.5 cup marinara sauce
- 8 leaves cabbage
- 1/2 cup soffritto (carrot, onion, celery, garlic finely diced & cooked) recipe on mangiapaleo.com
- 4 leaves fresh basil finely chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pot boiling water for cabbage leaves
- Soften the cabbage leaves by submerging them in a large pot of boiling water, about 10-15 minutes. The leaves should be malleable when finished.
- Meanwhile, add the egg, soffritto, basil, parsley, garlic powder, and S&P in the raw ground pork. Mix to combine evenly.
- Once the cabbage leaves are done, lay each one flat. Add 2-3 heaping tablespoons of the pork mixture inside each leaf. Place the mixture almost in the middle - a bit closer to the thicker stem area of the leaf. Roll over once, fold in the sides, and continue to roll until it is closed (like a burrito).
- Add sauce to a stove-top pan on medium high heat. Place the cabbage involtini in the pan spaced out evenly.
- Cover the pan and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
- Mangia!
GET SAUCY
Many of you have asked if I have a favorite sauce recipe. Of course. I am Italian after all. But I do like to keep some recipes secret. For a jarred sauce I love Rao’s. And if you’re omitting tomatoes try this Tomato-Less Marinara Sauce by The Urban Poser.
Rolling the cabbage is the most time consuming part so it’s a great idea to get your children or kitchen helpers involved. As long as you roll them up so the meat isn’t spilling out the sides (and even if it is, whatever) it’s really hard to mess up.
MANGIA!