Cabbage rolls

This recipe is adapted from Lazy Cat Kitchen. It makes 14 rolls.

Ingredients

• ½ oz dried porcini, soaked overnight (ideally)

• 8 oz mushrooms

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 medium onion, very finely diced

• 6 garlic cloves, minced

• 1½ tsp smoked paprika

• ½ tsp sea salt, adjust to taste

• pepper, to taste

• fresh thyme, leaves from about 10 sprigs, to taste

• ½ cup white wine (or veggie stock)

• ½ cup walnuts, chopped coarsely

• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar, adjust to taste

• 4 tsp soy sauce, adjust to taste

• 1 heaped cup (raw) long grain rice

• 14 medium-large Savoy cabbage leaves (you may need 2-3 cabbages as ideally you want large and medium leaves only. Keep the rest for a stir-fry or soup.)

• 2 cups tomato sauce (store-bought or make your own with a can of crushed tomatoes, half a diced onion, and two minced garlic cloves)

Instructions

1. Soak porcini mushrooms in 1½ cups of boiling water to soften them and to obtain a mushroom infused stock. I recommend 8 hours at least, 24 hours is even better.

2. If making your own tomato sauce, get it going first and then return to the rolls while it simmers.

3. Chop fresh mushrooms into a small dice. If using a food processor, slice thickly first and use the pulse method. Pulse mushrooms in smaller batches and be very careful not to overprocess, you want coarse dice, not mush.

4. Heat up oil in a large pan you have a lid for. Add diced shallots, fry them on a low-medium heat until soft and translucent (about 10 minutes). Next add in garlic – fry for a few minutes stirring frequently as it burns easily.

5. Stir in smoked paprika, a good pinch of salt and pepper and thyme leaves. Stir all the ingredients around for a few seconds on low heat, next add half the chopped mushrooms. If the water released from the mushrooms does not deglaze the pan, add a splash of wine.

6. Once the first portion of the mushrooms cooks down a little, add the second. Allow it to cook down completely, before adding the rest of the wine, finely chopped porcini (make sure you rinse the grit off first and keep the stock), walnuts, balsamic and soy sauce. Carry on cooking the mushroom mixture until all the excess liquid evaporates. Taste and adjust the seasoning being mindful that rice will dilute the intensity.

7. Next, add in rinsed rice and all the mushroom stock without the grit that tends to settle at the bottom. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, once it starts to simmer count about 10 minutes, then switch off the heat and keep the lid on the pan for a further 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

8. Remove the leaves of the cabbage by making a delicate incision at the bottom of each leaf (where it attaches to the head), prising the leaf off gently. You will need about 14 whole leaves in total. I used large and medium leaves from 2 cabbage heads and kept the rest for a stir-fry or soup.

9. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and grab a large bowl, fill it with cold water (ice cubes help but are not necessary).

10. Plunge 4-5 leaves at a time into the boiling water. Blanch them, submerged fully (a smaller lid is often used to weigh them down), for 3-4 minutes. Fish them out and plunge them into the cold water.

11. Thin the outside stem of each leaf with a sharp knife. Run the knife along the stem trimming off any excess that jets out above the leaf’s surface.

12. Set the oven to 390° F and grab a large oven proof dish / saucepan, ideally with a fitting lid but you can also use a piece of kitchen foil.

13. Pour the tomato sauce and 1 cup of water into the bottom of the dish. Mix the two together.

14. Place a trimmed cabbage leaf on the work bench so that the inside faces you. Place a tablespoon or two (depending on the size of the leaf) of the filling at the bottom of each leaf, fold the sides to the middle and then roll the leaf gently until the filling is safely enclosed inside. Place it snugly in the prepared baking dish, with the seam down. Continue with the remaining leaves in the same manner.

15. Cover the pot with a lid and bake for about 20 minutes.

16. Remove the lid and bake for a further 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the cabbage leaves are fully cooked through (a sharp knife should slide right through the thickest part of the leaf). If you want the cabbage leaves charred, switch the oven to the grill function for the last 10 minutes (or so) and brush the leaves lightly with olive oil – watch carefully as they can burn quickly. Enjoy!

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