Finnish Ground Beef and Cabbage Casserole

Meat, vegetable, and rice — that’s what you get with every serving of Finnish Ground Beef and Cabbage Casserole.  Of course, you can eat each of them separately, but altogether in a casserole?  It’s three times as delicious in every bite!

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If you can’t find lingonberry jam or sauce in your area, don’t worry about it.  

This traditional Finnish dish is just as delicious without any lingonberries — and the best part?  It tastes even better the day after; if there’s any left, that is. 

Ingredients

• Stock – you can use chicken or vegetable stock if that’s what you have. 

But if you want more depth in the casserole’s flavor, you need to use beef stock instead.

• Rice – I strongly suggest you use basmati rice.  It’s excellent for casseroles because it does not get mushy quickly.

Instructions

Start by cooking the rice as usual (photo 1).  

While rice is cooking, get a pan or a skillet for preparing the ground beef.  Set it in medium-high heat and add two tbsp of olive oil.  

Saute the garlic and onion until they softened (photo 2).

Add the ground beef and mix for a couple of minutes (photo 3).

Cover the pan with a lid, turn down the heat and continue cooking until beef is slightly cooked (about twenty-five minutes).

On a separate pan, add the remaining olive oil, add the cabbage and salt. Cover with a lid and cook until the cabbage has slightly softened (photo 4).

Preheat the oven to 200°C (375°F).

Add the cooked beef and rice to the softened cabbage.  Pour syrup and mix to combine (photo 5).

Place the beef and cabbage mixture back into the skillet or a clean baking dish.  Pour the stock into it (photo 6).

Place the skillet (or baking dish) in the oven for forty-five minutes.

Set aside for about fifteen minutes.  Serve.

Tips and FAQs

• Chop the cabbage finely; it makes it quicker to cook and serve. 

• If you can, use beef stock.  It helps in giving more depth to the beef flavor in the casserole.

• You can skip the syrup if you prefer.  Or use less if you’re not sure.  It does help in adding more sweetness to the cabbage in the dish.

• Taste and season the beef and cabbage separately before mixing them all.  Do not forget to consider if you’re stock is properly seasoned as well.

• While in the oven, if you notice that the top is getting too dark, cover it with an aluminum foil and uncover for the last five minutes of cooking.

• CAN YOU FREEZE COOKED CABBAGE CASSEROLE?

 Absolutely.

Just make sure you place it in an airtight container or freezer bag first, then store it in the freezer.

So, there you go. One new dish to try this weekend — and then let me know what you think in the comment section below!