No. 539 — Whole Stuffed Head of Cabbage
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 539 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Make the same filling and in the same quantity as for No. 538.
Remove the damaged outer leaves from a whole cabbage. Trim, but do not remove, its central stalk. Lower the cabbage into salted boiling water, bring to the boil once or twice and lift out.
Separate the leaves without breaking them off the head. Spread each leaf with a thin layer of forcemeat, press the leaves back together and tie the entire head with string.
Place in a saucepan and pour over ¼ Russian pound of butter, ½ glass of broth and sour cream. Cover and stew, basting with the sauce and turning the head as often as possible.
When both cabbage and filling can easily be pierced with a needle, transfer to a dish, remove the string and pour over the strained salted sauce.
The author says the frying and stewing together takes at least one and a half hours.