PREP THE CABBAGE LEAVES:

• Put a large pot of water to boil. Salt to taste, like you would with pasta water.

• While the water is heating, remove the stalk from the bottom of the cabbage head, by cutting a round cylinder around it. This will allow water to enter the head of the cabbage and loosen the leaves.

• Next, place the cabbage in the pot. It should have enough water for the cabbage to be almost submerged (it will float due to the air between the leaves). Cover it up and put it on high heat.

• Bring it all to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium and let it cook for 5ish minutes. Keep an eye on it until the cabbage leaves turn bright and soft, but not limp (so they still hold their shape.)

• Once it's done, take out the cabbage head and place it on a cutting board until it cools down enough to handle.

MAKE THE FILLING:

• In a big bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground meat, egg, rice, salt, paprika, and ground black pepper.

  Your hands should have a slight film of fat on them and taste like a very salty soup. If your hands do not taste salty add more! If your hands do not feel oily, and the meat is sticking to them too much a tsp of olive oil.

FLAVOR THE TOMATO JUICE:

(This step can be skipped to save time and instead, use just plain tomato juice, but be ready to possibly need to salt the stuffing on your plate.)

• Add a tsp of oil to a medium pot over medium heat.

• Chop and add 2 shallots. Cook for 2 minutes.

• Pour in the tomato juice. If using stir in the tomato paste. Season to taste with salt. (I use about 1 tsp of salt).

• Crank up the heat. Once it's bubbling, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Back to the cabbage LEAVES:

• Once the cabbage has cooled down, remove the leaves from the cabbage head, careful for to tear the leaves.

• Cut the outside large leaves in half, around the middle thick vein/stem. Keep the discards in a separate bowl.

• As you get closer to the heart of the cabbage the leaves will get smaller and thicker. Using a vegetable peeler or a small knife, peel part of the thick stem off the back of each leaf.

• Chop up the heart of the cabbage, along with 2 shallots, and place them in the bottom of the big pot you used to boil the cabbage. Add all the cabbage discard to the bottom here as well. (This step is crucial because the bottom of the pot often burns a bit (fear not! it adds caramelized flavor to the sauce), and this cabbage onion layer will protect your actual cabbage rolls from getting burned.)

Stuff the leaves:

• Place 2 tablespoons of filling in the middle of a cabbage leaf.

• Fold up the side of the cabbage leaf and roll it in a little cylinder, resembling an ice cream cone.

• Fold in the top side of the leaf so it completely covers the filling.

• Add to the bottom of the pot, and continue with the process - adding new rolls in co-centric circles with the remaining cabbage leaves and filling.

• Pour the tomato juice evenly over the cabbage rolls, covering them all.

• Finally place a heat-proof plate or a bowl on the top of the cabbages, to keep the rolls from floating up as the pot boils.

FINALLY, COOK THEM ROLLS!

• Cook on medium-high until it starts to boil, then lower to medium-low for 50-60 minutes.

• After 50-60 minutes take out one roll and check on how soft the rice is. If the rice is soft, you are all set! If it is still a bit crunchy return to boil for another 10 minutes and check again.

Serve rolls topped with the sauce and the bottom caramelized cabbage shallot combo. Add a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream and a sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper. To do it Slovak style, have some sourdough on the side to soak up the sauce.

Freezes well. Keeps up to 3 months in the freezer.

Enjoy!