Australian_Yoga_Journal_October_2017

61

october 2017

yogajournal.com.au

Pickled cabbage rolls

MAKES 15–25 CABBAGE ROLLS TIME: 50 MINUTES

CABBAGE ROLLS
2 large onions, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves

1 red capsicum, cut into chunks

125 ml (1⁄2 cup) thick passata (see recipe book for a home-made version)
100 g. black olives, pitted

A small handful of dill, stalks and all, finely chopped

A small handful of parsley, stalks and all, finely chopped

5 oregano sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped

125 ml (1⁄2 cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra

1⁄2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. sweet paprika

3 cups cooked brown rice

1⁄2 tsp. unrefined salt

80 ml (1⁄3 cup) lemon juice

15–25 fermented cabbage leaves or blanched cabbage leaves (see note)

SAUCE
1 large onion, diced

1⁄2 tsp. ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

500 ml (2 cups) passata

1⁄3 bunch of parsley (about 50 g.), stalks and all, finely chopped

2 tsp. unrefined sugar (e.g. rapadura)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Everything about these makes me happy: the flavour of the fermented

cabbage, the rice, olives, tomatoes, herbs, spices, olive oil and the overall
crunch and richness. They are literally one of my favourite things on the
whole planet. If I could just eat these with pickles and our bread for the

rest of my life, I would probably be the happiest little lady in

the world. It’s like there is something genetically wired in me

to love these.

For the filling, place the onion, garlic, capsicum, passata,

olives, herbs and olive oil in a blender and blend on low for

20 seconds until just combined. Heat a large frying pan over a

medium heat and quickly fry the pepper and paprika with a

little extra olive oil until fragrant. Add the contents of the

blender to the pan and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.

By this time it should have become a thick and fragrant sauce.

Add the rice, salt and lemon juice to the pan, turn on the heat

and stir gently.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by sweating the onion and

pepper with a splash of oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.

Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine.

Simmer, covered, for 20–30 minutes.

While the sauce cooks, take a whole cabbage leaf and cut

off most of the hard outer vein with a small knife, being

careful not to break the leaf. Place a spoonful of stuffing

mixture into the lower middle of the leaf and wrap up

like a parcel. Repeat until all of the filling is used.

Once rolled, place the cabbage rolls in a shallow baking

dish and pour the hot sauce over the top. Cover, leave to

cool to room temperature (your cabbage rolls will gently

poach as they cool) and then refrigerate. Eat these cold. We

love to serve them with hummus and sourdough bread.

Note. If you don’t have fermented cabbage, simply

blanch the large outer leaves of the largest cabbage you

can find in boiling water with a big splash of vinegar and a

big pinch of salt until just soft.