Remove the entire core of the cabbage with a knife. Immerse the head of cabbage in the boiling water for a few minutes. Peel off each leaf with tongs as soon as it's flexible. Set the leaves aside on a collander.
In a large bowl, combine all the ground meat, one onion diced, the rice, sliced scallions, chopped dill and parsley, a pinch of cumin and sea salt, and freshly ground pepper.
Remove the hard rib if any from the leaves with a knife. Place a spoonful of the stuffing mixture in the middle of each cabbage leaf, and wrap into rolls.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Saute the second diced onion for a few minutes. (this onion can also just be sliced. As soon as the onion has softened, place a handfull of fresh parsley son top. You can add some leftover cabbage leaves on top (optional).
Transfer the cabbage rolls to the pot in layers next to one another, and cover with a plate to not unwrap while cooking.
Pour enough water to cover the cabbage rolls, and add 1/3 cup olive oil.
Cover and simmer in low for 60 minutes. Remove from heat, uncover and let food sit for 10 minutes to cool the broth.
Prepare the egg-lemon sauce
Whisk 2 eggs really well for about 2 minutes. Add the juice of 4 lemons and keep wisking. Drizzle a ladleful of the food broth while wisking. Pour sauce over stuffed cabbage rolls. Shake the pot to make sure sauce is distributed all over. Serve.
Notes
A vegan version of this recipe.
Substitute the meat with 1 ½ cups of rice.
Saute the diced onion in a little olive oil before adding it to the mixture.
Add the ½ bunch chopped fresh parsley and ½ bunch chopped fresh dill and the 3 sliced scallions in the stuffing mixture.
Add 3 tbsp raisins, ⅓ cup pine nuts, and ⅓ cup small walnut pieces in the stuffing.
Small diced 2 medium carrots and add in the mix.
For the vegan avgolemono: Use 2 cups of the food broth, the juice of three lemons, and 2 tbsp cornflour to thicken the sauce. Sprinkle in some chopped fresh dill.
Vegan recipe adapted from Argiro.grNutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only an estimate and can vary based on the products used.