Stuffed Savoy Cabbage

For the tomato sauce:
1 can (28 oz) whole peeled plum tomatoes, with juice
2 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped (1 c.)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 t. red pepper flakes
coarse salt

For the stuffed cabbage:
coarse salt
1 large head Savoy cabbage (2 to 3 lbs.)
12 oz. ground chuck
12 oz. ground pork
2 c. cooked brown rice (from 1 c. dry)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. fresh flat leaf parsley
1 T. hot paprika

For the sauce:
Pulse tomatoes with juice in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally until slightly thick, about 20 minutes. Season with salt. Let cool completely.

For the cabbage:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add cabbage head, and cook until outer leaves are just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Peel outer layer of leaves, and drain. Return remaining cabbage to water, and repeat until all leaves are cooked and removed.
Pat each leaf dry with a kitchen towel.
Preheat oven to 375.
Gently combine beef, pork, rice, onion, parsley, paprika, and 1 T. salt.
Working with 1 leaf at a time, trim thick part of rib with a paring knife, leaving leaf intact. Arrange about 1/2 c. filling (less for smaller leaves) in center of each leaf. Fold stem end of cabbage over filling. Fold in sides of cabbage. Carefully roll cabbage over to form a package, overlapping ends to seal. Transfer each, seam side down, to a large shallow baking dish.
Spread sauce over stuffed cabbage leaves. Cover with foil and bake until cooked through and cabbage is tender, about 1 hour.

Makes 12 servings. Total time 2 hours + cooling time.

Verdict:
Things wrapped in cabbage seem so fancy. It was a good dinner but it takes a long time. If it didn't take so long I would make them again but because it is so time consuming I probably wont.