Parboil the rice: Get out a small pot and place about 2 cups of water into it. Place this over high heat until it comes to a boil and toss in your cup of rice. Let the rice boil for 10 minutes and then strain it. Let the rice cool off completely.

Sautee the diced onions with a tablespoon of oil until they are translucent, but not browned. Let the onions cool off completely.

Prep the cabbage: Start by filling a large stockpot ¾ of the way with water and place it over high heat until it begins to steam/simmer. Then use a pairing knife to take out the stem and core of the cabbage. Place one of the cabbages into the steaming/simmering pot of water and use a wooden spoon to separate the leaves from each other. Let these leaves simmer in the pot for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are soft. Transfer the cabbage leaves to a plate to cool and repeat the process with the other head of cabbage.

Mix up the filling: Add all of the ingredients for the filling into a large bowl and use your hands to mix them all together. Be gentle though, we don’t want the rice going mushy!

Make the sauce: Get out another large bowl and toss the tomato paste into it. Then pour in 2 cups of boiling water and dissolve the tomato paste into it. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and mix everything together.

Make your cabbage rolls: Get a cabbage leaf and begin by removing the outer part of the stem with a pairing knife. Place the leave down on a cutting board and make an inch sized slice through the remainder of the stem. Then dollop about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling down onto the leaf. Start rolling the cabbage leaf around the filling until it forms a log shape. Then fold up the sides of the cabbage leaf and continue rolling until everything is nice and tight.

Cook the cabbage rolls: Get out a large pot and pour a little bit of the sauce into it so that it covers the bottom. Then layer the cabbage rolls into the pot and pour the remaining sauce over them all until they are submerged. At this point, I like to place a small plate over the cabbage rolls to make sure that they are completely submerged in the sauce while cooking. Finally, place this pot over high heat until it comes to a boil and then lower the temperature and cover the pot so that it simmers for 1½ to 2 hours.

After the cabbage rolls have cooked, take them out and serve them on a plate. Then pour some of the tomato sauce over them along with some minced parsley leaves and enjoy!