Holubky (Basic Slovak Stuffed Cabbage Rolls) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup rice
12 large cabbage leaves
1 lb ground chuck or 1 lb ground beef
1 teaspoon garlic salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce, divided

Preparation

Cook rice for 5 minutes; then drain.
Remove core from cabbage and place in a large pot of boiling salted water.
Boil until large outer leaves get slightly limp and separate from head (10 minutes); then remove and de-vein (save 2 cups cabbage water for sauce).
Mix together meat, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, partially cooked rice, garlic salt, and pepper.
Place about 4 tablespoons rice mixture (or according to size of leaf) on each cabbage leaf, fold the ends in over the filling and roll up.
Stack tightly in a large pot or dutch oven.
Add water saved from boiling cabbage and pour remaining tomato sauce on top.
Cover and cook over medium heat for 2 hours (check occasionally to make sure the bottoms aren't scorching; turn heat down if they start to).
Serve hot.