Cabbage Cassserole for Vitality, Protection, and Security | Sara's Kitchen Witchcraft

If you've ever had cabbage rolls, congrats; we made them easier.

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Now, a long, long time ago, I went and made cabbage rolls to share with you all. In our Slovenian and Ukrainian house, we know them under their Balkan name, sarma (which are actually typically made with pickled cabbage leaves, and that is so delicious, lemme tell you) or their Ukrainian name, holuptsi (which are made with normal cabbage). They're a delicious, filling meal option that is actually a lot healthier than it tastes, because it's really just meat, rice, and cabbage slow cooked in a nice red sauce. The only issue with them, of course, is that mixing all that meat and rolling it into all those leaves before baking it for an hour is a massive pain in the ass sometimes.

This meal, though, this casserole... it's all the deliciousness of cabbage rolls with none of that fuss. And in fact, if you make holuptsi and find yourself with those two little balls of leftover cabbage that's too small and tough to turn into any more rolls? Chop those up and freeze them, and they make the perfect base for this meal, which means less food waste and more tasty cabbage roll type dinners!

If you want that taste for less time and effort, and you're looking for a hearty meal for these colder months that you can easily have plenty of leftovers with, then this is your jam. Magically, of course, we're looking at cabbage, rice, mustard, carrot, and onion, which are all about the kind of comfort and support we're looking for as we stay warm and cozy with our families.

So let's dive in!

Magic in Cabbage Casserole

Now, once again, we have a meal that screams comfort. If you want to boost that comforting feel even more, I suggest cooking this in your cute (ceramic coated, not plain iron) Dutch oven or something, but whatever pot you cook it in will basically become a cauldron of goodness by the end. And with so many ingredients that are full of flavor and bulk, that keep you full and cozy, there's no way this pot won't help you get the things you're looking to draw in this winter season: comfort, security, protection, and resilience. It's a humble meal, yet a filling one, and it'll do you well when you need to stay warm and full for cheap. All our ancestors' staples in here, like cabbage and carrot and rice, also make for a vibe of abundance and financial security as much as the onion and mustard ward away any spooky things knocking on your door.

Just like our breakfast casserole, in this bad boy, our main elemental player is fire once again, with a little touch of air and water from the rice and cabbage. In terms of planetary influence, it's also mostly Mars, with a little bump from both brother Sun and sister Moon. This means we have the means here in this meal to be properly energized and ready to not only defend the sanctity of our homes, but also fight the good fight and pick ourselves up even when we want nothing more than to stay buried under five hundred blankets. It also reminds us to be optimistic, joyful, and sentimental with our loved ones, which is always good to do around this time of year!

Cabbage Casserole

Prep time: 30 min

Cook Time: 90 min

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1lb of ground meat (beef, turkey, Italian sausage, etc.)

• 1/2 to 1 head of cabbage, diced

• 1 onion, diced

• 5 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 carrots, diced

• 9oz tomato paste

• 1 full jar of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes

• 2 cups of beef stock or water with beef bouillon

• ~1 cup (250g) white rice

• 2 Tbsp oregano

• 2 Tbsp mustard

• 1 Tbsp paprika

• 1 Tbsp garlic powder

• 1 Tbsp onion powder

• 2-3 bay leaves

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. (If using fatty meats like raw sausage) Fry your meat until halfway cooked and the fat is released, then scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Dice and fry your onions until translucent, then add garlic and fry until fragrant.

3. Add carrot, cabbage, and tomato paste, and stir until tomato paste coats everything in the pot.

4. Add everything else except the rice, then bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, for one hour. (Clean ya damn kitchen while it cooks.)

5. After an hour, add the rice, stir, and let cook until the rice is cooked and has soaked up the water (20-30min). Just don't let it stick to the bottom of the pot!

6. Serve with crusty bread, a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt, and enjoy!

As a house that loves cabbage rolls and yet rarely has someone willing to do all the leg work to make them, this is so good and so comforting. If you're also a house that knows the value of a good roll of meat and cabbage, this is for you, because let's be real: by time you cut your rolls up in your bowl, they're going to look like this anyway. Give it a try; you'll definitely be adding it to your regular meal rotation! ♥

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Sara Raztresen is a Slovene-American writer, screenwriter, and Christian witch. Her fantasy works draw heavily on the wisdom she gathers from her own personal and spiritual experience, and her spiritual practice borrows much of the whimsy and wonder that modern society has relegated to fairy-and-folktale. Her goal is to help people regain their spiritual footing and discover God through a new (yet old) lens of mysticism.

Follow Sara on Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube, and explore her fiction writing here.