No. 542 — Lithuanian-Style Stuffed Cabbage
English historical translation of Molokhovets recipe No. 542 from the 1901 Russian cookbook, retaining original methods and measures.
Remove the green outer leaves from two small cabbages, cut each head into four pieces, and lower into salted boiling water for a quarter of an hour. Drain in a sieve and squeeze gently by hand.
Finely chop ¾ Russian pound of beef and ¾ pound of kidney fat. Season with salt, crushed black pepper, allspice and two spoonfuls of finely chopped onion, and pound together.
Stuff each cabbage quarter by spreading the filling between the leaves and tying the portions with string.
Place in a saucepan, cover with water or broth, lightly salt and boil until the stuffing is cooked.
Melt ½ spoonful of butter, stir in one spoonful of flour and, while stirring over the heat, dilute with three glasses of the cabbage cooking liquid. Boil and strain.
Pour the sauce over the cabbage, bring to the boil again, and remove the strings before serving.
To provide
2 heads of cabbage and ¾ Russian pound of beef ¾ Russian pound of kidney fat 1 spoonful of flour | 5 black peppercorns and 10 allspice berries 1 onion, ½ spoonful of butter and salt |