When my friend Sylvia boasted of her “unstuffed cabbage,” I secretly smirked. Unstuffed cabbage? It seemed like such a violation, but the dish turned out to be tasty and a snap to make. Serves 6 to 8 as a main.

Directions

Prepare the Unstuffed Cabbage

1. Bring water to a boil in a five-quart Dutch oven and add shredded cabbage. Cover and let cabbage steam for five minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine ground meat, egg, tomato sauce, matzo meal, and spices into a mixture that holds together. Using the palm of your hand, form balls that are one inch in diameter. You will have 24 meatballs.

3. Place meatballs on top of cabbage. Cover and continue to cook over low heat while you combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl. Pour sauce over meatballs and cook, covered, for one hour.

4. Adjust seasoning to taste before serving over rice, pasta, quinoa, or mashed potatoes. This freezes well.

About

This recipe is excerpted from Jewish Soul Food (2015).

Recipe tags

Cabbage Carol Ungar Chopped meat Classic Jewish foods Freezer-friendly Ground beef Ground meat Holidays Jewish Holiday Jewish holidays Jewish law Jewish Soul Food Make ahead Matza meal Matzah meal Matzo meal Mince Shredded cabbage Stuffed cabbage Tomato sauce Traditional Traditional Jewish food Twists on tradition Unstuffed Unstuffed cabbage White cabbage

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Hadassa

2024 years ago

The best meatballs! This has become a family favorite, everyone who tastes it asks for the recipe. So delicious!! I keep trying to rate this five stars, and for some reason it’s only letting me do one, lol.