Place one of many oven racks within the decrease third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Evenly grease a 9×13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. Put aside.
Mix the rice and water in a medium saucepan and convey to a boil over excessive. Scale back the warmth and simmer uncovered on low, stirring often, for 25 minutes, till the rice is partially cooked (it’s going to maintain baking within the oven). Pressure the rice by a effective mesh strainer and rinse with chilly water to take away any extra liquid and starch. Place in a big bowl and put aside. Maintain the pot useful (no want to scrub it).
In the meantime, core the cabbage: Peel off any soiled leaves from the cabbage head. Sit the cabbage in your slicing board so the stem facet is going through straight upwards. Utilizing a paring knife, make 4 cuts which can be every 1/2-inch away from the core in order that the cuts kind a sq.. Make every minimize at an angle in order that your knife is pointing down in the direction of the core as you slice. Shimmy the knife by every nook of the sq. form to assist loosen the core. Then, pull on the cabbage stem space to take away the core. You could have to wiggle your paring knife across the sq. once more to assist loosen it. Discard the core.
Simmer the cabbage: Fill a big pot with 2 inches of water. Convey to a boil, then cut back the warmth to a medium-low warmth such that the water simmers. Rigorously decrease the cabbage (with its core facet going through the underside of the pot and the highest of the pinnacle going through up) into the pot and canopy it. Let simmer for Quarter-hour. With a slotted spoon or handheld medium sieve, rigorously carry the cabbage out of the water. Let cool till you possibly can deal with it safely, 10-Quarter-hour.
To the now-empty pot you used to cook dinner the rice, add 2 tablespoons of oil and the onion. Sauté over medium-low warmth for 10 minutes till softened. Add the garlic and saute till aromatic, about 1 minute.
Add the onion-garlic combination to the bowl of rice.
Add the bottom beef, egg, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and a pair of tablespoons chopped parsley. With a fork or your arms, combine to mix, ensuring to not overwork the meat. Solely combine till simply mixed. Put aside.
Place the semi-cooled, cooked cabbage on a slicing board. Peel 12 bigger in-tact leaves off of the cabbage (peel from the core facet for simple removing). Trim any powerful, thick ribs from the stem facet of the cabbage leaf through the use of a paring knife to chop a V form across the rib to take away it. (Don’t minimize off an excessive amount of or it will likely be exhausting to roll.) Put aside.
Quarter and chop any remaining cabbage into skinny 1/4-inch strips. Scatter evenly over the underside of the baking dish.
Assemble the rolls: Add 2 heaping tablespoons of the meat combination to the middle of a cabbage leaf (it is OK if the leaf continues to be a bit damp).
Fold the edges of the leaf inwards to cowl the meat, then start rolling from the stem facet, till you’ve gotten a cabbage roll.
Place seam facet down, within the ready baking dish. Repeat with remaining cabbage till you’ve gotten 12 rolls. If there’s any leftover beef combination, roll it into small (about 1-to 1 1/2-inch) meatballs and organize them within the pan in between the rolls.
To the now-empty bowl that held the meat combination, add the tomato sauce. Add 1/2 cup water to one of many empty tomato sauce cans, swish round, and add the water to the bowl. Combine within the crushed tomatoes, garlic powder, bay leaf, vinegar, honey, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Stir gently to mix.
Rigorously pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. Carry the cabbage rolls a bit to make sure the sauce will get distributed beneath them.
Spray a chunk of foil massive sufficient to cowl the pan with nonstick spray. Cowl the pan tightly with the foil, inserting it spray-side down. Place onto a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake till the cabbage is almost fork tender and simply cuts with a paring knife, about 1 1/2 hours.
Take away from the oven and punctiliously uncover the pan. Use a spoon to ladle the recent sauce from the underside of the pan over every cabbage roll. Get well the pan securely with foil and permit to relaxation at room temperature for half-hour.
Take away and discard the bay leaves. Serve instantly or retailer within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
