Beef Doves (AKA stuffed cabbage leaves)

I made these for a dinner at my sister's house. I had looked in Fannie Farmer for stuffed cabbage leaves, and I thought she didn't have the recipe. I was surprised and disappointed, only to find, a few weeks later, that they were disguised by the weird name (beef doves? wha?)

The stuffing all mixed and ready for leaves.

 I was cooking for a group, so I doubled the recipe below.

Mix: 1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked
1/2 c. cooked rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
few grains cayenne
Moisten with: 1 tbs. condensed tomato soup

Ready for stuffing.

Cook 8 cabbage leaves in boiling water 2 mins. (I cooked them 6 minutes b/c I don't like crunchy cabbage). Drain cabbage leaves, add 2 tbs. filling and roll each leaf. Place seam-side down in a dish, add the rest of the can of soup and a canful of water. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.

I tried to memorize the recipe, but I forgot the seasonings. So, I looked up the recipe in my sister's expanded edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. It was totally different (and not called Beef Doves). So I sort of combined the two recipes.

Stuffed leaves.

First, I cooked 1 lb. ground beef, a small onion, and a clove of garlic in a frying pan with a little coconut oil. Then I added 1/4 c. parsley and a small handful of fresh rosemary (or use about 1tsp. dried). Then I mixed in cooked quinoa instead of rice, and about 1c. tomatoes (I had stewed, so that's what I used) and the salt. I left out the pepper, since I used other herbs.
I covered the top with the tomato sauce and baked in the oven 30 minutes at 350 (this was a combination of the two recipes--I don't have the other cookbook right here, but that's a combo of both recipes).

It turned out pretty well. My son wouldn't eat the cabbage, but he ate the filling. Everyone else said they liked them. So, I think this one is a success. It's pretty easy, so I'll probably make it again. Plus, I like to stuff things, and I have a lot of cabbage in the garden. I use basically the same filling for peppers and zucchini, with different seasonings. 

Ready for the oven.

I made 16 stuffed leaves, and it made enough for 7 people with a couple leftover. I'm definitely going to make this one again. I will maybe try to change up the seasonings, though this was good enough that even my pickiest sister said, "I didn't think I'd like these but they are actually pretty good." Which is a compliment coming from her!



I recommend this recipe for anyone who needs to use up extra beef, rice, or cabbage. It's tasty and easy to make (and of course, use rice if you don't eat quinoa).