Stove top cabbage rolls

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My mother made cabbage rolls. Not sure what country cuisine they belonged to, but they were made with rice and chopped up cooked ham. And they were made on a stove top in a pot, not in an oven. With already cooked meat filling, rather than raw, the stove top version only takes 20 minutes or so to cook. Valuable when you are economizing on gas on a boat or RV.

 Of course the main ingredient is cabbage. It needs to be big enough to allow the leaves to be rolled. Getting the leaves off is a bit of work.Cut out some of the core so that the stems of the leaves are free. Save the first 2 or three leaves to line the pot later. peel of as many leaves as you need, I am making 5 rolls so  5 leaves. Be as careful as you can not to tear them too much but a bit of tear is not a real problem

Cut off the thick hard outer layer of the stems so they can be rolled, and par boil them for about 5 minutes to soften a bit, Put the leaves aside. They will cool off enough to handle

Lets make the filling. Start with coked ham, here a bit from a bone in ham. Canned ham will do. Cut that ham into small pieces.

Start the bacon frying, add the cut up ham, and some garlic flakes and let that fry up a bit.

Add the rice, half cup beef broth and half cup water. and let that simmer. The water and broth are not enough to properly cook that amount of rice, but it will par boil it and finish cooking later once inside the rolls. Check when the liquid is all absorbed by the rice and put it aside. Add the paprika.

Line the bottom of the pot with spare leaves so the rolls do not get burned if heat is too high.Start making the rolls. A scoop of filling goes into the thinner more flexible round end of the leaf, not the stiff stem end.  Roll up and fold over the ends and make a layer in the pot. The flatter the layer, the less additional liquid it will need and the less time it will take to start cooking

Add a can of tomato paste and spread that out. Add a half cup of broth and enough water to cover the rolls. Let simmer on low heat, enough to bubble though, for about 20 minutes. Test a piece of cabbage to see if it is done enough.


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Ingredients adapt as needed

Large cabbage
Cooked ham. I used a bit from a bone in ham. Canned will do
About 3/4 cups rice
Some cut up Bacon
Salt
Paprika
Garlic flakes
Beef broth
Tomato paste