Catherine’s whole stuffed cabbage

Catherine Tessier, chef of Oddo Domaine du Vallon des Glauges, loves to cook for the fun of it all: family cooking, with several people around the table, sharing happiness and delight. A variety of meats can be used for the stuffing: minced beef or pork, chicken livers and sausage meat all work well.

8–10

Serves

Preparation time 20 minutes Cooking time About 1½ hours

YOU NEED

• 1 large savoy cabbage, at least 20 cm in diameter and about 1,2 kg

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) butter

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil

• 500 g onion (about 3), finely chopped

• 600 g rainbow carrots (about 6), chopped

• 1,2 kg smoked pork belly, cubed (or use thick slices of streaky bacon; see more options above)

• 10 g Italian parsley, chopped

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly ground black pepper

• 3 cups (750 ml) vegetable stock

THIS IS HOW

Place the whole cabbage, core side down, in a large saucepan. Cover with boiling, salted water and place over medium heat. Gently simmer for 10–15 minutes, then drain and cool upside down in a colander.

Make the stuffing Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Fry the onion, carrot and pork belly until soft. Stir through the parsley and seasoning.

Place the cabbage core side down on a clean kitchen towel. Carefully pull down the outer leaves halfway, then use a knife to separate the heart from the core, making sure the cabbage remains intact.

Place some stuffing in the cavity and press down firmly, then spoon in more stuffing to cover the lower third of the leaves. Lay some cabbage leaves over the stuffing and spoon more stuffing over the new layer of leaves. Continue until all the stuffing has been used or you have 2 cm left to go.

Place the stuffed cabbage in a casserole dish lined with a clean tea towel or cheesecloth, and pour in the stock. Cover and cook in the oven at 180 ºC for 1 hour. >