French stuffed & braised Cabbage Rolls
Made by Alessandro Cipriano
Ingredients
For 4 servings
Makes 8-10 Cabbage Rolls
- 1 savoy cabbage of about 675 g 100 g
- 100g long grain rice
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
- 225g boletus or other forest mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
- 250g minced beef
- 50 g whole wheat bread crumbs
- 50 g almonds, chopped and toasted
- 1 pinch of grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
Vegetable Layer
- olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 stick of leek, cleaned, cut into small cubes and rinsed thoroughly
- 1 carrot, cut into small cubes
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp dry white wine,
- 0.15 dl vegetable stock
For the Sauce
- 4 tablespoons double crème
- 1 egg yolk
Sidedish: Lyonnaise potatoes. A French dish of sliced pan-fried potatoes and thinly sliced onions, sautéed in butter with parsley.
- 800 g potatoes cooked in their skins
- 2 large onions
- 3 tbsp chopped parsley
- 3 tbsp. frying butter
- salt
- white pepper
Cook the rice almost soft in boiling water for about 8 minutes, rinse under cold running water and drain well. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and sage and fry for 5 minutes. Now add the beef and fry well.
Add the mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes over high heat until liquid begins to emerge. Stir in the breadcrumbs and almonds, take the pan off the heat and add the rice, nutmeg, cumin and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and let the mixture cool.
Divide the mixture into 8 portions and shape them into balls. Spread out a cabbage leaf, put the filling in the middle, take two small or one large cabbage leaf, wrap around and secure with a wooden toothpick. Do the same with the remaining cabbage leaves.
Vegetable Layer
Put the oil in a fireproof casserole or oven dish. Add the onion, leek, carrot, garlic and herbs, braise evenly. Place the cabbage rolls on the bed of vegetables and pour the stock and wine over them.
Bring slowly to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer the cabbage rolls covered for 25 to 30 minutes on the stove or in the oven for 30-35 minutes preheated to 200°C. I prefer the oven.
Sauce
Remove the cabbage rolls from the casserole and keep them warm covered in the oven. Strain the contents of the saucepan through a sieve into a small saucepan. Mix the crème double and egg yolk together, stir in a little stewing liquid and pour the mixture into the contents of the pan, stirring constantly. Heat slowly and let the sauce thicken while stirring. Make sure that it doesn’t boil, otherwise the yolk will curdle. Arrange 1 or 2 cabbage rolls per person on a plate, cover with sauce and serve with the Lyonnaise potatoes. At the beginning I prefer to serve only one cabbage roulade, so that it doesn’t look so cluttered. You can always serve more if people are very hungry.
Lyonnaise potatoes
Peel the cold, cooked potatoes and slice them about 3 mm thickness.
Halve onions and cut into strips. Heat the butter in a large frying pan.
Now add the onions and let them brown nicely. Now add the potatoes, season and slowly fry until golden brown. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley.
Ready to serve, enjoy!
