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Turkey & Barley Cabbage Rolls with Fresh Dill

Cabbage rolls stuffed with turkey, barley, and dill, baked or simmered in tomato sauce.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Cabbage and dill work together. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 47 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Turkey & Barley Cabbage Rolls with Fresh Dill

4–6
Oven175 °C (350 °F)
Total1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Simmer the barley in the broth until tender, about 30–40 minutes. Drain excess liquid if needed and set aside to cool.

  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Core the cabbage and place it in the pot. Simmer for 5–10 minutes, removing leaves as they soften. Reserve 10–12 large leaves for rolling.

  3. In a large bowl, combine the cooked barley, ground turkey, onion, garlic, egg, dill, salt, and pepper to make the filling.

Roll and sauce

  1. Spread a cabbage leaf flat on a work surface. Place 2–3 tablespoons of filling near the base of the leaf. Fold in the sides and roll up tightly to enclose the filling. Repeat with the remaining filling and cabbage leaves.

  2. Prepare the sauce by mixing the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, canola oil, paprika, and apple cider vinegar in a bowl or large measuring cup. Add sugar or maple syrup if you like the sauce sweeter.

  3. Spread a few spoonfuls of the sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish or pot. Arrange the cabbage rolls over the tomatoes, seam-side down. Pour the rest of the sauce over the rolls. Sprinkle with extra dill if desired.

Cook

  1. For the oven method, cover with foil and bake at 175 °C (350 °F) for 1 hour. For the stovetop method, simmer gently, covered, on low heat for 1 hour.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

881Calories
45 gProtein
37 gFat
94 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 15 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Barley1 cup cooked (157g)193
Chicken100g cooked165
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Maple Syrup1 tbsp (20ml)52
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Green Cabbage1 cup shredded (89g)22
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Dill5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cabbage + dilltop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together47 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Chicken + turkeytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together688 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).

  3. Cabbage + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,001 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Barley + cabbagetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together124 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Clove + dilltop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together187 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ground turkey
Forms the main body of the filling and provides savory, meaty structure when cooked.
Pearl barley
Adds chewy texture and bulk to the filling and absorbs moisture as it cooks.
Egg
Helps bind the filling together so it holds its shape inside the leaves.
Green cabbage
Forms the flexible leaves that wrap the filling and become tender during simmering.
Crushed tomatoes
Form the sauce that adds moisture and gentle acidity while the rolls braise.

The step that matters

Rolling the cabbage leaves. Rolling tightly and placing the seam side down keeps the filling enclosed, so the rolls hold their shape and don't unravel while they simmer in the sauce.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (barley, chicken, cabbage, turkey, onion, egg, dill):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Celeryfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against barley, chicken, cabbage, turkey, onion, egg, dill. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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