Stuffed Savoy Cabbage Leaves
As a child the only way I liked Savoy cabbage was in Italy, when I ate the leaves stuffed. Now
Savoy cabbages remind me of my youth and, although I enjoy them boiled, served hot with a
little soy sauce, I still really love eating them stuffed. The leaves are very large but quite pliable,
which means that they won’t break when you roll them up, but I find it helps to blanch them for
a minute in boiling water or even to pour a kettle full of boiling water over the separated leaves.
You can make these in advance and reheat them, even in a microwave, for a tasty but quick
dinner. Serves 4
Ingredients:
a small sprig of rosemary
olive oil
500g minced pork
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
10-12 black olives, rughly chopped
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
8 Savouy cabbage leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper
Heat the rosemary in some olive oil in a frying pan, then fry the meat for a couple of
minutes. Add the onion, garlic and olives, season and fry for another couple of minutes. It’s
important that the filling is properly seasoned as the cabbage is fairly bland. Add the stock,
which will add more flavour and keep the meat moist, and cook until the meat is completely
cooked through. Add some grated Parmesan at this point, stir it in and leave the mixture to cool.
Blanch the cabbage leaves in boiling water for 1 minute and remove with a slotted spoon.
Lay each leaf out flat, divide the filling into eight equal portions and place a portion in the middle
of each leaf. Roll up the leaves like a cigar, folding the ends in before you roll the last bit and
secure with a wooden toothpick to ensure they don’t open. If you prefer, you can make parcels
instead of rolls by folding in the four corners and securing with a toothpick.
Reheat in the microwave for a few minutes at maximum power until they are hot through.
Alternatively, you can heat them on a gentle heat in a covered frying pan with a little oil to stop
them sticking and a couple of tablespoons of water to keep them from drying out. Again, make
sure they are hot through before serving.
*taken from the book ‘From Seed to plate’ by Paolo Arrigo, published by Simon and Schuster
