“Stuffed” Cabbage Casserole

Chop the onion finely and the bacon into small cubes. Heat a heavy pan, add the bacon cubes and fry until some of the fat has rendered, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and continue cooking until the onions are golden. Add the ground meat and the dried herbs and cook, breaking the lumps, until nicely browned.

In the meantime cook the rice in salted water until half cooked. Read the package’s instructions and cook the rice for a bit more than half the recommended time. Mine was supposed to be cooked for 16 minutes according to the instructions, so I only cooked it for about 10 minutes, it was still a bit grainy in the middle. Drain the rice and add it to the browned meat. Add 1 tablespoon tomato puree and 2 tablespoons sour cream, the sweet and the hot paprika and some salt and pepper to taste.

In the meantime chop the cabbage finely. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a very large pot and cook the cabbage until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring quite often in between, so that it gets golden all over. Add one cup vegetable broth and the bay leaves, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit/ 390 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour 3 tablespoons of the tomato puree and the rest of the sour cream in a large casserole. Spread all over. Layer ½ of the cabbage and about ¼ of the remaining tomato puree. Spread the meat in an even layer over the cabbage, add another ¼ of the tomato puree and cover with the rest of the cabbage. Pour the rest of the tomato puree evenly over the cabbage.

Cut the tomatoes into slices, add them on top of everything and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the rice is cooked and the casserole is nicely colored.

Serve with bread and more sour cream or yogurt for a lighter version.