Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I love taking traditional recipes and making them my own. This recipe is inspired by multiple regions- a little bit of Greece, a little bit of Japan and a little bit of Turkey. The cabbage rolls are steamed in a beautiful light tomato based broth and are packed full of flavour.

Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook time: 60 minutes Servings: 6 People

Ingredients

Stuffing

500g lamb mince, can sub for beef

1 whole Savoy cabbage

1 cup short grain rice

1 large onion, finely diced

4 large cloves of garlic, finely diced

1 cup fresh parsley & mint, finely chopped

1 egg

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs (optional)

Salt & Pepper

Broth

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup white wine

2 bay leaves

400g can of whole Roma tomatoes or crushed tomatoes

300ml chicken broth

salt & pepper

Method

1. Start by pre cooking the cabbage leaves, cut the stem out of the bottom of the cabbage (see image) & bring a large pot of salty water to the boil.

2. Add the whole cabbage into the water and after 5 minutes start to seperate the leaves

3. Add leaves into an ice bath

4. Next, for the filling, start by sautéing your onion until translucent, approx 5 minutes. Then add in your garlic and sauté a further 2 minutes or until fragrant, remove from the heat

5. Cut off the tough stalk part of your cabbage leaves. Chop up the stalks and add to a big bowl. Add your sautéed onion and garlic to this bowl

6. Add the rest of your stuffing ingredients into the bowl and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for half an hour.

7. Now you can start on making your broth. Over Medium heat in a heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven add in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, minced garlic and bayleaves. Sauté until fragrant (2minutes) and then add in your wine, allow the wine to simmer for 1-2 minutes and then pour in your tomatoes with a good pinch of salt. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

8. Now it's time to roll up your cabbage leaves. Watch video to show how I roll these up.

9. Once all your cabbage leaves are rolled up, start placing them in your dutch oven where your tomatoes are.

10. Top with chicken broth & cover with a lid/ plate made with foil (which covers just the cabbage rolls - then place a lid on top

11. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and cook on low heat for 40 minutes

12. Top with a little butter and serve cabbage rolls with broth

Enjoy!

Sarah x