Nov 23

Nov 23 Involtini di verza | stuffed cabbage

Today we are making “involtini di verza” or stuffed cabbage. My mom used to make this recipe for a quick and easy dinner. The filling was minced meat, prepared with her own special recipe, which I’ll share today, then rolle dinto a blanched cabbage leaf and baked in the oven with lots of tomato sauce and cheese. Comfort winter food at it’s best!

LOOK AT THAT COLOR!

Aren’t they beautiful? I love to use Savoy Cabbage for this recipe as it has such a vibrant green color that stands out. Make sure you really blanch the leaves well as the nerves are quite though. (I didn’t because I wanted that very bright green color to capture on photo.)

The filling, since we are a vegan blog, is made out of lentils, walnuts and tomato. I seasoned this mix with my moms “secret”, which is not really a secret but it makes this filling so much better.

You’ll need garlic, shallot, parsley, basil, mint, nutmeg, mustard and ketchup, yes ketchup! Trust me here!

Now it’s time to jump into the recipe because I know how annoying long blogpost are…

vegan minced meat stuffed cabbage rolls or involtini di verza

Recipe

This serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

For the filling:

1 can of cooked lentils (400gr)
2 ripe tomatoes
80 gr of walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbs of mustard
1-2 tbs of ketchup
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 shallots, minced
handful each of fresh parsley, basil and mint, minced
pinch of nutmeg

Savoy cabbage
Tomato sauce
Vegan cheese that melts of choice

Instructions

Start by placing a pot of salted water on the stove and bring it to a boil.
Remove the first layer of outer leaves of the cabbage.
Then carefully take of 8 leaves and remove the hard stem in the middle.
Once the water is boiling blanch the cabbage leaves for a few minutes until the nerves are soft.
Place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
Meanwhile add the lentils, walnuts and tomatoes to a blender or mixer and pulse until the mixture comes together and almost resembles minced meat.
Transfer to a bowl and season with the garlic, shallot, herbs, mustard, nutmeg and ketchup.
Season to taste with salt and pepper or more of the other ingredients if needed.
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Take a blanched cabbage leaf and spoon some of the filling in the center.
Roll the leaf around the filling to form a little roll.
Do this with all the leaves and filling.
Spoon some tomato sauce on the bottom of an oven dish and place the cabbage rolls on top.
Cover generously with tomato sauce and vegan cheese.
Cover the whole dish with tin foil and bake in the oven for 30 to 50 minutes.
Serve hot and topped of with fresh herbs.
Buon appetito!