Stuffed cabbage leaves

Ingredients

• butter
• 1 large savoy cabbage
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 8 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 2 tsp caraway seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 50 g raisins
• 1/2 lemon zested
• 40 g long-grain rice cooked and cooled
• 200 g lean minced beef
• 200 g minced pork
• 8 smoked Polish Kabanos sausages
• 500 g tomato passata
• 150 ml white wine
• 2 level tsp ground white pepper
• 1 heaped tbsp flaked sea salt
• to serve soured cream

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 190c/fan 170c/gas 5. lightly butter a shallow ovenproof dish (a lasagne dish is ideal). Remove 12 large leaves from the cabbage and cut out the tough stalk at the bottom, leaving the leaf intact. Blanch the cabbage leaves in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes to soften. Drain, then plunge into a bowl of ice-cold water and leave for 5 minutes. drain well.

2. 2

   Melt a large knob of butter in a frying pan and gently cook the onion and garlic with the caraway and bay leaves until very soft and lightly coloured. Stir in the paprika and cook for 2 minutes more. Tip the mixture into a large bowl, remove the bay leaves and add the raisins, lemon zest, rice and minced meats. Season with salt and white pepper and mix really well. Divide the stuffing mixture into 12 portions and place each one in the centre of a cabbage leaf. Fold in the sides and roll to make neat parcels. Put in the prepared dish with the edges tucked underneath. Nestle the sausages between the cabbage rows. Mix the passata and white wine together with a pinch more salt and pour over the cabbage and sausages. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

3. 3

   Remove the foil. Splash over the soured cream and serve with boiled potatoes.