This is the first recipe I re created from Food Around The World - Ukrainian recipes.  We love cabbage rolls of any kind, and these were very interesting.

We are used to cabbage rolls smothered in some kind of tomato sauce.  These were steamed with water.

I was unsure of what seasonings to use, so used Hungarian Paprika, Garlic Powder, Dill, fresh Parsley and Salt and Pepper.  Next time I would increase the amounts of these seasonings, which I have done in the recipe below.  Feel free to adjust seasonings to suite your taste.

We usually have cooked rice in the mix for cabbage rolls.  In this particular recipe , soaked mashed red lentils were used.  How intriguing.  It was unclear how long the red lentils were soaked.  We did ours for 6 hours, next time I would do a minimum of 8-10 hours.

We enjoyed the simple sweet flavour of grated carrot in the mix - something we usually do not include.

All this said, these cabbage rolls were quite tasty, hearty and nutritious.  We loved it paired with bacon and onion creamy polenta - something we will make with cabbage rolls again.

1 medium to large head of green cabbage

1/2 cup red split lentils, rinse well (soak 8-10 hours)

3 medium sized carrots, grated

1/2 a large onion, chopped

3 minced garlic cloves

3 large crimini mushrooms chopped on the small side

2 Tblsp. Avocado oil

1 1/2 tsp. Hungarian Paprika

1 tsp. dried dill

1 tsp. dried garlic

salt and fresh cracked pepper

handful of fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 egg, whisked

Begin by boiling your head of cabbage in a large pot of water.  Turn down to a good simmer, and cook lid on 12-15 minutes.  Drain carefully into a colander and allow to cool.

Heat up a dutch oven with the Avocado oil low medium heat.  Add the grated carrots, onion, garlic and mushrooms.  Saute 6-8 minutes.

Add in the ground beef and seasonings except for the fresh parsley.  Cook another 3 minutes then remove from the heat.

Next, drain and rinse your lentils well.  Return them to a bowl and mash - be prepared for some muscle work lol.

Add the mashed lentils to the meat vegetable mixture, fresh chopped parsley and then add 1 whisked egg mixing well.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Once the stuffing is all mixed remove the leaves from the cabbage, stuff with the filling and fold the sides in and roll the cabbage roll.  Place on a wire rack that is inserted into a roasting pan. (I also added some extra wedges of cabbage around the pan to keep the cabbage rolls more stable)  Then add boiled water to the pan about half way up the pan.  Cook covered for 1 hr. 20 min.

Next onto the polenta:

1 cup polenta

2 cups water, 2 cups milk

generous amount of salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

1 Tblsp. butter

1/2 and onion, sliced

5 pieces chopped bacon

Place the bacon and onions into a frying pan, on medium heat.

Cook until nicely browned, and set aside to add on top of the polenta.

Heat up the milk and water with a good tsp. or more of salt.  Once simmering add the polenta, stirring on and off until thick - about 30 minutes.  Check for salt and pepper adding more if needed and add in the butter, stirring well.  Serve alongside the cabbage rolls, topping the polenta with Parmesan cheese and the cooked bacon and onions.