Cabbage is abundant in an English vegbox, no matter the time of year. This is great way to use the whole head and have leftovers for days. It freezes and re-heats well also.
Start off by cooking some lentils. Rinse them and boil with twice as much water.
Add in the below while they’re cooking:
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 minced chilli
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 1 small chopped onion
- salt & pepper
They should be ready in about a half hour, just leave them to the side until the rest is ready.
You’ll need to blanch & core the cabbage. Hit it on the hard counter top, stem-side down. This will loosen the stem then you can just pull it out. Boil a large pot of water and toss in the whole cabbage. As it starts to soften, gently peel away each leaf, using tongs. Try to keep them whole and toss them into a bowl of cold water as soon as they come off. Any broken leaves or small bits from the middle can be chopped up and added to the lentil filling.
While you fill & roll the cabbage leaves, warm up two cans of chopped tomatoes. Add in salt, pepper, a sprinkle of sugar and a dash of red wine & mixed Italian dried herbs.
For the cabbage rolls you’ll need a large baking dish. Put each cabbage leaf in front of you and in the bottom section put a pile of lentil mixture. Fold it over, fold the sides in & finish the roll up. Place seam side down in the baking dish. Cover with the tomato sauce & bake on 180/375 for 20 minutes. sprinkle a little extra virgin olive oil & sea salt to serve.