Chorizo-stuffed cabbage rolls

‘I’ve recently rediscovered my fondness for cabbage rolls or “cabbage cannelloni”, as my kids call them. The rolls of my childhood (and most recipes I’ve come across) rely on you having leftover cooked rice or roast meat, but I like them too much to have to wait until those things are at my disposal, so I came up with these. What sets them apart from other stuffed cabbage recipes is that the rice used is raw and cooks in the roll. This makes them a lot easier to prepare and gives the rice more flavour. And, best of all, they can be completely prepared the day before.’

SERVES 4 PREP 30 mins

COOK 1 hr 15 mins MORE EFFORT

8 cabbage leaves (Savoy,

Pointed or Hispi)

200g cooking chorizo,

casing removed

200g long-grain rice

1 tsp smoked paprika (we

used Spanish)

2 garlic cloves, crushed or

finely grated small bunch of parsley or coriander,

leaves picked and finely chopped 2 tbsp olive oil

680g passata rustica (or use regular passata) or finely chopped tomatoes

15g parmesan, finely grated

1 Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and prepare a bowl of iced water. Plunge the cabbage leaves into the boiling water for 1 min, then quickly but carefully lift into the iced water using a slotted spoon and leave to cool completely. Drain in a colander and set aside.

2 Crumble the chorizo into a bowl along with the rice, paprika, garlic, herbs and some seasoning. Scrunch everything together with your hands until well-combined.

3 To assemble, first cut away a V-shape around the thick part of the stem on each cabbage leaf. Divide the stuffing into eight portions and roll each into a thick sausage. Working with one sausage at a time, wrap a cabbage leaf around it, rolling it over and tucking in the sides as you go. Repeat the process until all the cabbage leaves are stuffed. Will keep, chilled, for up to a day.

4 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Drizzle a small roasting tin or shallow casserole dish with half the oil, then pour over half the passata. Nestle in the cabbage rolls, then pour over the rest of the passata. Cover the tin or dish tightly with a lid or foil and bake undisturbed for 1 hr. Remove the lid, scatter over the parmesan, drizzle with the remaining oil and bake for another 10 mins until the parmesan is golden. Serve straight from the dish.

GOOD TO KNOW vit c • 2 of 5-a-day

PER SERVING 501 kcals • fat 24g • saturates 8g • carbs 50g • sugars 9g • fibre 4g • protein 19g • salt 1.8g