Whole30 Stuffed Cabbage

December. Christmas season. And in the Delgado-Ortiz house, Christmas season means one thing above all others: pasteles. I know I made a batch in October but October pasteles are the opening act. December pasteles are the headliner. December pasteles are the reason the freezer exists. December pasteles are the reason I get up in the morning from Thanksgiving through New Year, and I am not exaggerating, and Eduardo will confirm this because Eduardo has lived through twenty-eight Decembers with me and he knows that December Carmen is a different creature than the rest-of-the-year Carmen — more intense, more focused, more likely to be found at 2 AM grating green bananas over the kitchen sink with a look on her face that suggests she is communicating with the ancestors.

This weekend I made the first December batch. Forty-eight pasteles. Rosa came from New Haven to help. Sofia helped reluctantly — she peeled plantains and wrapped banana leaves and complained about how long it takes, which is what every generation says until they become the generation doing the teaching, and then they understand. Mami called from Bayamon three times during the process to correct my technique via phone. More achiote, Carmen. The masa is too thick. Are you using enough salt? I put her on speaker so Rosa could hear, and Rosa said, Abuela, we are doing fine. Mami said, You are doing fine because I am supervising. She is not wrong.

The house smelled like Christmas all weekend — banana leaf and sofrito and pork and the warm, earthy scent of achiote oil. Eduardo walked through the kitchen and stole a taste of the pork filling and I pretended not to see. Sofia took a photo of the finished pasteles lined up on the counter and posted it on her social media with the caption My mom is insane. I choose to interpret this as a compliment. Insane about pasteles is the highest form of sanity.

I have already started the Christmas menu planning. Pernil — the big one, the centerpiece, the twenty-four-hour marinade followed by six hours of slow roasting that fills the house with garlic and oregano and the smell of Puerto Rico. Arroz con gandules. Ensalada de coditos. Tostones. Tembleque. Coquito. Pasteles. This menu does not change. This menu has not changed in twenty years. This menu will not change in the next twenty. I have told my children this explicitly. They believe me.

Called Mami before bed. She said, How many pasteles did you make? I said, Forty-eight. She said, Not enough. Make more. She is right. She is always right about pasteles. I will make more. The freezer has room. The tradition demands it. And Carmen Delgado-Ortiz does not let tradition down.

After a weekend of wrapping forty-eight pasteles — masa pressed by hand, banana leaf folded just so, twine tied with the knot Mami taught me — my hands do not want to stop. There is something about the rhythm of wrapping that gets into your body. So when I needed a weeknight dinner that felt like an extension of all that December energy without another full pasteles production, I came back to this Whole30 Stuffed Cabbage: the same satisfying act of tucking a savory filling into a leaf, the same deep, slow simmer filling the kitchen with warmth, just a little lighter and a little faster. Rosa texted me after I made it and asked for the recipe. Even Sofia approved — reluctantly, as is her way.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 1 hr | Total Time: 1 hr 25 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 large head green cabbage
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (85% lean)
1 small head cauliflower, grated into rice (about 3 cups)
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (plus more for garnish)

Instructions

Blanch the cabbage. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Core the cabbage and carefully lower it into the water. As the outer leaves soften and loosen (about 2—3 minutes), peel them away with tongs and transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat until you have 12 large, pliable leaves. Pat dry and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of the cabbage cooking water.
Make the cauliflower rice. Pulse cauliflower florets in a food processor until they resemble coarse rice, or grate on the large holes of a box grater. Spread on a kitchen towel and squeeze out excess moisture. Set aside.
Build the filling. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the ground beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, and cook until no pink remains, about 6—8 minutes. Drain any excess fat. Stir in the cauliflower rice, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, paprika, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, and parsley. Cook 3 minutes until combined and fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Make the sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the crushed tomatoes and reserved cabbage water. Season with salt and a pinch of paprika. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Assemble the rolls. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce across the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Lay a cabbage leaf flat on your work surface. Place about 1/3 cup of filling near the base of the leaf. Fold the sides in, then roll up from the bottom, tucking firmly as you go. Place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
Bake. Pour the remaining tomato sauce evenly over the assembled rolls. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10—15 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the tops of the rolls are lightly caramelized.
Rest and serve. Let the rolls rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish generously with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Whole30 Stuffed Cabbage — The Same Hands That Wrap Pasteles Know How to Wrap This