Savoy Cabbage Rolls with Brown Rice & Bacon

This is a delicious bacon-y twist on stuffed cabbage with local farm market ingredients I had on hand!  The local savoy cabbage I bought from Eastern Market is absolutely beautiful - I wish I'd have snapped a shot of the bright green blanched leaves - artwork in itself!  This is not the quickest meal (about 35 min prep and 45 min the oven), but it SURE is tasty and cheap.

Savoy Cabbage Rolls with Brown Rice & Bacon
Makes 8 rolls.  Serves 4 or 8, depending on your hunger level. ;)

Ingredients:

Cabbage Rolls:

8 large savoy cabbage leaves, blanched
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 c brown rice
1 egg
1/2 lb bacon, diced and browned (more or less to taste - or omit for veggies!) I used bacon ends that I get at the farm market (3 lb for $1!)
1 pinch sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Sauce:
1 c crushed tomatoes (about 1/2 28 oz can)
1/4 c white vinegar
2 tsp cane sugar

Directions:

Blanch cabbage leaves for 2 minutes in boiling water.  Cool in ice bath immediately to stop cooking. Cut out woody stems & set aside.

Brown bacon in a small pan.

In a medium pot, saute onions and peppers in olive oil until fragrant and softened.  Add rice and a pinch of salt to this pot and stir to mix with ingredients.  Add 3 c water and cover. Cook rice to package instructions or about 20 minutes.

Make sauce by combining vinegar, tomatoes and sugar.

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, mix the rice mixture with bacon, egg, and about 3 tbsp of the sauce.  Spoon even amounts into the cabbage leaves.  Fold edges in like a burrito and roll up.  Place in an oiled glass baking dish, edges down so that they do not unfold.  Cover rolls with tomato sauce.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Yum!  I loved the vinegar with the bacon.  To me, these were better than traditional rolls made with ground beef.