Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls {Paleo, Gluten-Free, Whole30}

This has been one of those weeks that has just felt endless.  Murphy’s Law has been out in full force.  Between bad weather and bad juju I’ve been asking “is it Friday yet?” for dayyyyys.  And it’s still. not. Friday.

Know what else seems to go on forever?  This pot of deconstructed cabbage rolls.  Except that I’m not upset about.

Instead of individually stuffing each cabbage roll, save yourself the time and effort.  Throw it all in a pot, throw the pot in the oven, and you’re good to go!  Okay, so there are a few more steps than that…

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Cook meatballs until browned on both sides.

Place meatballs in a large Dutch oven over shredded cabbage.

Top with mushroom/onion mixture.

Cook for a couple of hours!

I promise it tastes way better than that picture looks! 

I love how the spices from the meatballs seep out and flavor the whole sauce.  The meatballs are super tender, but hold together very well.  I used ground chicken, but beef, turkey or even lamb would also work well!  One word of warning: if you’re not serving these all at once, be careful how you portion the cabbage, veggies and tomato sauce less you end up with a dutch oven full of meat balls!  Although I can certainly think of worse problems to have…

Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls

Adapted from The Healthy Foodie

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs

• 2 lbs ground chicken, turkey or beef
• 1/2 head cauliflower, riced in the food processor (that’s about 2 cups)
• 2 whole eggs
• ½ cup almond meal
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground clove
• ¼ tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp cacao powder (or cocoa powder is fine in a pinch)

For the Tomato Sauce:

• 1 large onions, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 8oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup water*
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp dried mustard
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• ½-1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• ½ medium green cabbage head, finely shredded

*You may want to try reducing to 1/4 cup, just enough to deglaze the pan.  I found that 1 cup made it very soupy.

Instructions:

1. Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large mixing bowl and knead well with your hands until uniformly blended.  Form the meat mixture into 30-35 medium sized meatballs.  (I find it’s easier with slightly damp hands).
2. Heat some coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When pan is nice and hot, add the meatballs and cook until crispy and golden brown all around. You might have to work in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the size of your skillet. Don’t worry about cooking the meatballs all the way through as they will finish cooking in the oven.
3. While the meatballs are cooking, shred the cabbage and lay it at the bottom of a large Dutch oven or oven safe dish with fitting lid.
4. Arrange the meatballs over the shredded cabbage.
5. Add mushrooms, onions, and garlic to the pan that you used to cook the meatballs and cook for one or two minutes, just enough for the vegetables to become fragrant and wilt a little bit.  Put in the Dutch oven over the meatballs.
6. Add water, vinegar, mustard and spices to the cooking pan to finish deglazing it, bring to a quick boil then pour over the reserved meat and veggies.
7. Add the canned tomatoes put the lid on and place that in a 350F oven for about 2½ to 3 hours, until the cabbage is nice and tender.

Serves 6-8

Johanna