Cabbage Salmon Rolls Recipe

One Salmon Cabbage Roll sliced in half on a white plate with basil leaves and orange vinaigrette.

5 from 2 votes

Salmon Cabbage Rolls are first and foremost delicious. They're also beautiful, elegant, and lovely for a dinner party. Salmon and cabbage are one of those perfect culinary combinations - the textures, the colors, the flavors - it's all there!

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time10

Total Time1 40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fish for dinner party, unique salmon recipes

Servings:

Calories: 387kcal

Author: Valentina K. Wein

Equipment

Ingredients

1 head green cabbage
6 (approximately 5-ounce) fillets salmon, skin removed

For the salmon mousse

½ pound salmon fillet, skin removed, cut into chunks
½ cup heavy cream
1 large egg
10 small-medium (or 5 large) basil leaves, washed, dried
½ teaspoon kosher salt (use half the amount if you use table salt)
½ teaspoon black pepper

For the vinaigrette

⅓ cup orange juice
1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard (whole grain of smooth)
¾ teaspoons honey
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the cabbage leaves

Line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels and prepare a large bowl of ice water - it should be large enough to hold the cabbage and the water without overflowing.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil (also large enough to hold the cabbage without overflowing). Gently place a whole head of cabbage in water, root side up. Leave it in the boiling water for about 4 minutes. Remove it with tongs, and place it directly in the ice water.
Once it’s cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to remove the root. Pointing the knife away from you, cut around the root, in a cone shape, and then and then use the tip to “pop” it out.
From where you’ve removed the root, gently pull the leaves up and off, until you have 6. As you get further in, it might get more difficult, as the leaves will be less wet. Just go very slowly, and don’t worry if they tear a little bit. As you remove the leaves, place them between and on top the paper towels on the sheet pan.

Make the salmon mousse

Add the ½ pound of salmon chunks, cream, egg, basil leaves, salt. and pepper to the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment. Blend until smooth.

Assemble

Use paper towels to pat dry the cabbage leaves if they’re still wet, and place them out on a clean, dry workspace. Spread a thin layer of the salmon mousse over each cabbage leaf (it should divide evenly between them). Sprinkle both sides of the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Then place a fillet directly in the center, presentation side down and in line with the main vein of the leaf.
Now very carefully fold the sides of the mousse-coated cabbage leaves over the fillet - it should stick nicely. (If there are any particularly tough stems in the cabbage leaves, cut them out and use parts of another leaf to fill in any empty spaces.) Set aside in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook (up to overnight).  Or, you can steam them right away.

Steam

Put a large steamer into a large pot with the water level just below it. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil and then add cabbage wrapped salmon to the rack - as many as will fit. You’ll likely need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pot.
Cover, turn the heat to medium-low, and steam about 9 minutes. Just slice into one if you're unsure if they're done - you want the very center to still look translucent.

To serve...

Warm the vinaigrette in a small pan. Slice each cabbage roll in half, drizzle each portion with the vinaigrette, and serve.

Notes

Nutritional information is automatically calculated, so it should only be used as an estimate.

Nutrition