Cabbage Rolls

After a visit to the local supermarket I came away with a few bargains! I always head to the reduced price bit in the fresh fruit and vegetable section. I came away with a pack of parsley, a savoy cabbage, a courgette and a red pepper. I was feeling creative and couldn't wait to get home after I'd done the rest of the shopping.

It didn't take me long to come up with the following recipe, after all what else can you do with savoy cabbage leaves other than stuff them! Well, yes, you could make vegan bubble and squeak, perhaps that'll be my next recipe.

I also remembered to weigh everything before I started cooking so I have the exact amounts I used. All in all this recipe cost me next to nothing, infact for the 12 cabbage rolls I made cost less than £4.00!!!

Ingredients

1 Savoy Cabbage
70g Red pepper
165g Mushrooms
120g Courgette
1 Onion (80g)
2 Cloves Garlic
3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 can Green Lentils
15g Fresh Parsley
½ tsp Corriander
1 tsp Cumin
1½ tsp Paprika
½ tsp Chilli Flakes
Salt and Pepper

Method
Finely chop all fresh ingredients bar the cabbage. Separate the leaves from the cabbage and rinse to get rid of any excess soil and pat dry. Remove the centre vein from each cabbage leaf to about half way up.

Saute the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the pepper and continue cooking over a medium heat. Add the courgette and mushrooms and cook further until the vegetables are soft. 

Whilst the chopped vegetables are cooking, blanch the cabbage leaves in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Remove and drain, patting them dry with kitchen roll. Be careful not to rip them! Leave to cool.

Add the spices to the chopped vegetables and stir to combine, add a little cabbage water if the mixture is too dry.

Drain the green lentils and add to the chopped vegetables and spices, next add the nutritional yeast and mix thoroughly. Continue to cook over a low heat for another couple of minutes or until the lentils are warmed through.

Flatten the cabbage leaves on a clean surface and add a dollop of the mixture to the top centre of each leaf. Fold in the sides and roll finishing with the seam on the underneath. If after the stem has been cut out you don't have much of a full leaf left, place the leaf down so that one side of the leaf overlaps the other where the stem was. This should roll and keep the filling in the middle.

Place the wrapped leaves in a baking dish and pour over about 4 tablespoons of the cabbage cooking water and tightly wrap silver foil over the top. Bake in an oven at around 180°C for 20-30 minutes.

The mixture filled 12 cabbage leaves but it could fill more or less depending on the size of your cabbage.☺

Serve with mash potato and vegetables or chips and salad. Enjoy!