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1
Chop the onion finely and the bacon into small cubes.
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2
Heat a heavy pan, add the bacon cubes and fry until some of the fat has rendered, about 2 minutes.
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3
Add the onion and continue cooking until the onions are golden.
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4
Add the ground meat and the dried herbs and cook, breaking the lumps, until nicely browned.
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5
In the meantime cook the rice in salted water until half cooked.
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6
Read the packages instructions and cook the rice for a bit more than half the recommended time.
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7
Mine was supposed to be cooked for 16 minutes according to the instructions, so I only cooked it for about 10 minutes, it was still a bit grainy in the middle.
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8
Drain the rice and add it to the browned meat.
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9
Add 1 tablespoon tomato puree and 2 tablespoons sour cream, the sweet and the hot paprika and some salt and pepper to taste.
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10
In the meantime chop the cabbage finely.
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11
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a very large pot and cook the cabbage until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring quite often in between, so that it gets golden all over.
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12
Add one cup vegetable broth and the bay leaves, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
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13
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit/ 390 degrees Fahrenheit.
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14
Pour 3 tablespoons of the tomato puree and the rest of the sour cream in a large casserole.
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15
Spread all over.
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16
Layer 1/2 of the cabbage and about 1/4 of the remaining tomato puree.
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17
Spread the meat in an even layer over the cabbage, add another 1/4 of the tomato puree and cover with the rest of the cabbage.
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18
Pour the rest of the tomato puree evenly over the cabbage.
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19
Cut the tomatoes into slices, add them on top of everything and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.
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20
Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the rice is cooked and the casserole is nicely colored.
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21
Serve with bread and more sour cream or yogurt for a lighter version.
