Stuffed Cabbage
Serves: 5
Mohammad Wiegand
1 January 1970
Based on User reviews:
47
Spice
54
Sweetness
47
Sourness
35
mins
Prep time (avg)
4.7
Difficulty
Ingredients:
Directions:
1
Drain and pat dry with a towel
2
Bring a large pot of water to boil
3
Salt it generously
4
Core the cabbage
5
Gently peel away the leaves to expose the heart (by heart, I mean the ball of more yellowish leaves at the center which are too tightly packed to bother prying apart)
6
Cut out that core of inner-most leaves and shred to add to the stuffing
7
Cut the thick ribs out of the remaining leaves (they will look like you've stolen a sliver from a pie)
8
Set aside
9
Blanch the cabbage leaves for 5 to 7 minutes
10
Drain, and refresh under ice-cold water
11
Break the bread into crumbs in a bowl, pour over the milk and set aside to soften
12
Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet and gently fry the onion and shallot until transparent, about 5 minutes
13
Add the chopped cabbage, mushrooms, garlic and thyme
14
Cook another 5 minutes
15
Add the bread and cook until the milk has evaporated
16
Stir through the quatre-epices and season generously with salt and pepper
17
Add this mixture to the sausage meat in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with a fork
18
Make a small ball and fry it in the frying pan
19
Taste it to check the seasonings
20
Adjust as needed
21
Lay a tea towel on the counter with a piece of cheesecloth or muslin large enough to wrap the cabbage in
22
You're going to reconstruct the cabbage, but with layers of stuffing between the leaves
23
So, first lay down the large outer leaves, in a circle, slightly overlapping with the prettiest side out
24
Spread over a layer of stuffing
25
Lay over another layer of leaves and repeat the action
26
Continue until you have run out of leaves
27
Pull up the edges of the cheesecloth, like a bag, and twist, as if making the head of a puppet, to shape the cabbage into a round loaf shape
28
Tie a string around the beard of cheesecloth where it meets the cabbage ball, to secure the package
29
The cabbage can be prepared to this stage in advance, refrigerated and then cooked before serving
30
To cook: Steam the cabbage over water or good chicken stock (about 2 cups/500 ml of it) for 45 minutes
31
The flavor from the stuffed cabbage will drip into the water or stock and give it the most amazing flavor
32
When the cabbage is done, boil down the cooking juices and serve a spoonful around each wedge of cabbage in a soup bowl