Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
A delicious vegetarian dish, healthily filled with brown rice, vegetables and a touch of my favourite seeds – pumpkin and sunflower.
6
35 minutes
1 hour + 30 minutes
180C
Ingredients
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2 tbsp olive oil
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1 x medium sized savoy cabbage
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Rice Filling
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250g brown rice- cooked
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2 small onions- finely chopped
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2 sticks of celery- finely chopped
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2 cloves of garlic- crushed
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1 carrot- peeled and grated
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250g frozen spinach- chopped
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Grated nutmeg- small amount
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1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
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1 tbsp sunflower seeds
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1 whole egg- beaten
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Season lightly with sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
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2 tbsp olive oil
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Tomato Sauce
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1 x 425g can tomatoes- chopped
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1/2 can water
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Juice of 1 lemon
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1tbsp cider vinegar
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1tbsp date syrup
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1tbsp hot sauce- (optional)
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Garnish
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Splash of olive oil 100g brazil nuts- finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
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01 Prepare filling : heat oil in pan add onions and sweat. When soft add celery, grated carrot, garlic and frozen spinach. Cook slowly for 2-3 minutes until all vegetables are soft and tender. Mixture will be quite dry. Remove from heat and tip into a mixing bowl to cool.
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02 Add rice, raisins, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and beaten egg. Check the seasoning and mix well.
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03 Prepare cabbage leaves: in a large saucepan heat water to a gentle simmer, add cabbage leaves and cook until soft - 2-3 minutes. Drain under cold water and lay to dry on a clean tea towel.
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04 Prepare and assemble cabbage leaves: remove thick white vein from the bottom of each leaf, making a V-shaped cut.
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05 Place about 1tbsp rice mixture on a cabbage leaf; overlap cut ends of leaf. Fold in sides. Beginning from the cut end, roll up. Repeat. Lay all filled cabbage leaves close together and edge side down in a lightly oiled baking dish. Pack them tight as this will help to keep the cabbages in the required rolled shape.
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06 Prepare tomato sauce : mix all ingredients together and pour over cabbage leaves. Finish with a freshly grated thick layer of parmesan cheese.
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07 Bake covered with tin foil, lightly butter to prevent sticking to the top of the cabbage leaves and bake for an hour and a half until tender.
Notes
Many recipes recommend using string or cocktail sticks to keep the cabbages rolled, but I find if you wrap them tightly and stack close together in the baking dish, they keep their shape. Also it helps not to over fill. The recipe I provide for the filling can be altered to your taste buds, so if you want to add grated cheese go ahead but always add the egg (or more if you double the recipe) as this 'holds' the filling together during cooking. If using a long slow bake method, cook on a 120ºC oven and bake a good 2 hours.
