Meat mains
Stuffed cabbage
We've got several Eastern Europeans working on the farm and we occasionally serve dishes in the canteen to remind them of home. We also once did couscous for Norddine, our sole Moroccan worker, only to discover that he hated our version. Fortunately this stuffed cabbage went down rather better. It may seem fiddly at first, but the results are worth it.
Ingredients
- 1 medium Savoy cabbage
- 600g sauerkraut
- 250g minced beef
- 250g minced pork
- 50g long grain rice, cooked
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 4 smoked streaky bacon rashers, cut into thin strips
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp paprika
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1½ tsp caraway seeds
- 200ml water or stock
- 1 tsp cornflour
- 150ml soured cream
Method
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Step 1
Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas 4.
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Step 2
Remove and discard the outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut off the rest of the leaves from the core and blanch them in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain well, refresh in cold water, then drain again.
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Step 3
Set aside the 12 largest leaves and chop up the remaining cabbage.
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Step 4
Spread half the sauerkraut over the base of an ovenproof dish and cover with the chopped cabbage.
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Step 5
Mix the beef, pork, rice, egg, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Fry the bacon in a saucepan until just beginning to brown, then remove with a slotted spoon.
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Step 6
Add one chopped onion and garlic to the pan and cook them in the bacon fat for 5 minutes over a medium heat. Mix the onion and bacon with the meat and rice mixture.
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Step 7
Spread out the 12 reserved cabbage leaves on a board and divide the meat mixture between them. Fold in the sides of each leaf and then roll it up around the filling. Place the cabbage rolls on top of the sauerkraut mixture.
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Step 8
Put the paprika, cayenne, tomatoes, caraway seeds, water or stock and the remaining onion in a pan and bring to the boil.
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Step 9
Add the remaining sauerkraut and then pour the mixture over the cabbage rolls. Cover the dish, place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.
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Step 10
Mix the cornflour and soured cream together. Pour the mixture over the cabbage rolls and bake for 10 more minutes.
