STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES

This is a good way of using up the largest outer leaves of large,
dark green cabbages, so resist the temptation to discard them just
because they’re a bit muddy or ragged around the edges.
This is yet another recipe that would be good for a mixture of
leftover Bolognese, chilli, or even chicken curry and rice, but here
it’s a vegetarian meal – although it could very easily be both at the
same time if you’ve got meat to use up as well as the veggie
ingredients.
8 large cabbage leaves
2 onions
Mushrooms
Small tin of sweetcorn
Leftover rice
2 tbsp pesto or curry paste
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp basil
1 tsp mixed herbs or Herbes de Provence
Salt & pepper
Oil
Method
1. Wash the cabbage leaves and trim any very tough stalk ends;
put in a pan of boiling water and simmer very gently for about
2 minutes then strain the water away and leave the cabbage
leaves in the pan without a lid on until you need them.
2. Warm some oil in a large pan; fry the finely chopped onions
and mushrooms until just soft then add the rice and cook for
a few more minutes.
3. Drain the tin of sweetcorn and add to the pan with the pesto
or curry paste and a spoonful or two of the chopped tomatoes
if you think the mixture is a bit dry.
4. Wrap the mixture in the cabbage leaves and arrange the parcels
in a large ovenproof dish.
5. Make a quick tomato sauce by boiling up the chopped
tomatoes, tomato purée, salt and pepper and herbs in the same
pan you used to cook the vegetables.
6. Pour the tomato sauce over the cabbage parcels, cover with foil
and bake in the oven on Gas Mark 4 (180ºC) for about half an
hour, or until the filling is piping hot. Serve with lots of garlic
bread.
Tip
A mixture of leftover cooked root vegetables – parsnips,
turnips, swede, carrots – mixed with stock, or a mixture
of stock and milk, can be made into a purée with a hand
blender then layered with the meat and pasta instead of
cheese sauce in a lasagne. (Sprinkle some grated cheese
over the top.)