Barley-Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Pine Nuts and Currants

After reading all the reviews, I made changes: I removed the 12 leaves I intended to use and steamed them in a colander. If you cut off the spine as suggested, they roll up easily. I cooked 1 1/4c. dry barley, which made 4 c. cooked. I measured out 3 cups and saved the rest for soup. I didn't have currants and pine nuts are too expensive, so I toasted almonds & chopped them up with golden raisins. I couldn't believe the recipe had no herbs, so I added a tsp. of dried dill and a tsp. of dried mint to the barley. They were perfect with the feta cheese. That tomato sauce recipe looks gross--who puts apple juice in a tomato sauce? ick If you want a great sauce for this, look for the roasted pepper and tomato sauce that CL published with baked zucchini spears. It was perfect. I spread it over the rolls (I got 11) and baked it in a covered casserole for 50 minutes. Next time I'll put some water in the casserole to steam the cabbage more.

I used cabbage I had cut into quarters for another meal. It was not big enough to put the filling. I lined the slow cooker with the filling and used the cabbage leaves as another layer before pouring the tomato sauce over the top. It came out just fine but I agree with other's, the sauce isn't the best. Will def try again, this time with use big enough leaves and a diff sauce.

after all those reviews, knowing all the ingredients looked good, I made this into a soup. I chopped the cabbage, & threw it in w/the barley, then after it cooked, it wasn't the best. I decided to add enough chicken broth to cover, it worked & was not bad.

This came out OK. The filling is pretty good on its own and I think I will use it again. I steamed the cabbage for 10 minutes or so and had no problem with the leaves. One big head of cabbage provided about 16 useable leaves (the rest are a little too small). I think if I did this again I would use a better tomato sauce and perhaps extra feta cheese and perhaps try some garlic in the filling. It was a little bit blah but not bad. But it needs a little something more.

Overall, this turned out to be pretty yummy. I accidentally got a can of tomatoes with spices, but I think it added some flavor to the meal. I couldn't find currants so I used raisins. I would add more feta next time. The only thing I didn't like about this recipe is the time it took!!! Steaming the cabbage was a pain and there is no way it would have made 16 rolls. Trying to roll and fit all of them in the crockpot was a challenge. I still don't know if I would make it again.

I was so excited to try cabbage rolls and was very disappointed. I had trouble with the leaves, so I chopped up the cabbage and layered it like a casserole. The flavor was ok, but i don't think it would have tasted any different if it has been in the roll. My 20 month old daughter enjoyed the barley mixture. The taste was okay but I would not make this dish again.

This was without a doubt the WORST recipe I've ever made from cooking light. The smell alone after it cooked made me nauseous. I like all these ingredients, but they just do not work together.

This recipe was disgusting. It was incredibly bland, and it was a lot of work to make the cabbage rolls. The tomato sauce was especially dreadful, and was too sweet. I made an entire crockpot full, but my husband and I deemed it inedible and threw the whole thing out. This was disappointing considering not only the time involved, but also some pricey ingredients we bought specifically for this recipe (currants, pine nuts, feta cheese. although those things are great on a salad!).

My husband, who loves stuffed cabbage, did not like this at all. I baked it at 350 for 50 minutes. The cabbage was still pretty tough. I thought it was just ok. Probably best to stick with the slow cooker and skip it if you don't have one.

So delicious. Lazy me avoided actually rolling them up. Instead I layered all the ingredients in a pot and cooked it. So so good! Next time I may experiment and throw in some mushrooms as well.

We loved this. Not surprising because we love all the ingredients in the recipe. I did not find it all that time consuming. The barley takes 45 minutes to cook. During the time the barley cooked I prepared the cauliflower. I used a microwave steamer so it is pretty quick. I also sauted the onions and measured out all the remaining the ingredients. I used feta cheese. I followed another reviewer's suggestion and baked the rolls covered at 350 for about 45-50 minutes. I doubled the sauce and served some along side the cabbage rolls. Served it with some excellent multi-grain bread. Next time I might add some fresh chopped basil or mint. Otherwise it is quite perfect as written.

This recipe was good, but if I make it again (which I probably will), I'm going to add some browned sausage. As is, the recipe is a little on the bland side. I followed the amounts suggested in the recipe and even added carrots and bell peppers to the filling, but I only had enough filling to make 14 cabbage rolls. I made the filling the night before and cooked the rolls the next day to make prep easier, since it took over an hour to make the filling and roll the cabbage leaves.

Lovely recipe. Unique flavors. I find the cabbage leaves challenging to work with (and my family finds them difficult to cut). Instead, I shred the cabbage and then layer the cabbage, barley/cheese/nut mixture, and sauce in a casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees. Use a slotted spoon to serve. We love it with a green veggie and brown bread.