Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with Spicy Tomato Sauce
by Nikki
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Serves 4
Ingredients
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Cabbage leaves of a whole cabbage
1 tbsp oil: coconut or olive
1 onion finely sliced
1 cup cooked short grain brown rice
1 cup cooked Red Carlin peas
Handful sultanas or raisins
Good amount of green leafy veg chopped, I used Cima di Rapa, kale/ greens/ spinach
Mix of spices: turmeric, paprika, crushed coriander seeds
Lemon juice of half a lemon
Squeeze of agave
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For the Sauce
(From Ottolenghi. Can also be served with mejadra)
4 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp hot chilli powder or 2 red chillies seeded and finely diced
8 ripe tomatoes or 400ml passata
370 ml water
4 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
Instructions
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Steam the cabbage leaves for about 5 minutes and set aside to cool.
Cook the rice if not already, for 40 mins.
Start the spicy tomato sauce: this can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a couple of days.
Heat olive oil in a saucepan, add garlic and chillies and fry for 2 mins.
Add tomatoes, water, cumin, salt, cider vinegar. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat & simmer for 20 mins, until thickened or longer if needed.
Stuffing mixture:
Heat oil in a pan and saute onions on low heat to soften for 10 mins.
Add the spices and cook for a further 5 mins.
Add leafy veg and soften, depending on thickness of leaf this can take 5-10 mins
Add sultanas or raisins & red carlin peas & rice
Stir in the lemon juice and agave
Leave to simmer covered on low heat while rice finishes cooking. Remove the coarse central stalk.
When the rice is done stir in to absorb the juices and be well mixed.
Place some rice and bean mixture in the top of the cabbage leaf allowing space to fold the leaf around the mixture.
Place folded, stuffed leaves in an oven proof dish and cover with the tomato sauce. Cook in oven at 180 for 15 mins.