Serves 6-8
- 1 medium size white cabbage
- 100g easy cook white rice
- 100g soured milk trahanas (can be substituted with rice)
- 500g pork mince
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 100ml dry white wine
- 150ml vegetable stock
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 tbsp dill, finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 lemon, juice of
To garnish:
- 2 slices of sour dough
- 2-3 slices of Parma ham
- Poached eggs
- 1 tbsp dill, finely chopped
Start by taking the leaves off the cabbage.
Bring a large pan with water to a soft boil. Add the whole cabbage to the water after you have removed carefully running a small knife round its stem in a cone shape movement. This will help loosening the leaves.
Keep watching and testing, removing the cabbage from the pan and detaching as many leaves as can easily be removed, dropping them in ice cold water to stop the cooking. You may need to do this two-three times till you have all the leaves. They should be soft enough to handle but you will also need to remove by cutting a v-shape the hard stem of each leaf.
Once you have removed all the leaves drain them well and keep aside.
Bring a saucepan with a couple of tbsp of olive oil to a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sweat for a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the mince and brown all round. Add the white wine and cook till almost totally evaporated.
Rinse the rice and add to the mince with the trahanas, if you are using. Stir everything for a couple of minutes and add the stock. Cook for 4-5 minutes, season with salt and pepper and remove from the stove to let cool a little.
At this point you will need to decide if you make one single cake-like dish or individual portions. For the individual portions, place a single leaf on a board. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the mince mix and wrap with a second leaf tying the parcel you have made with string. You can steam the cabbage leave parcels in a wok or a large steamer. Sprinkle each parcel with some oil, season and cook in the steamer for 25-30 minutes, checking that the mince mix and cabbage leaves are thoroughly cooked.
Remove the parcels from the steamer, cut the string and keep warm.
At the end of the cooking time, you can use the flavoured water at the bottom of the steamer to make an egg and lemon sauce. Beat the egg and pour into it in a very thin steam the lemon juice whisking all the time. Add again in a thin stream the hot stock from the bottom of the steamer whisking continuously. Return the sauce to a small saucepan and cook over a low heat to thicken. Season and add some chopped dill. Keep warm and use it to drizzle the individual parcels at the point of serving.
If you decide to make a cake, grease with a little of the oil a cake tin and line with the leaves, not leaving any gaps. Spoon half the mince mix and top with a few cabbage leaves. Sprinkle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and 2-3 tbsp of water. Add the rest of the mince mix and top with the remaining cabbage leaves, again sprinkling with some olive oil and a bit of water. Cover with foil and top with a heavy plate. Place in a large saucepan and fill with water to reach half way up the sides of the cake tin. Bring to a slow simmer and cook till the filling and cabbage leaves are cooked, approx. 75 minutes. Check after 60, adding more water to the saucepan if necessary.
In this instance, I recommend using the lemon and oil to make a ‘ladolemono sauce’ adding the oil this time to the lemon juice very slowly while whisking to thicken, season and add the chopped dill before drizzling your cake.
For the sourdough crumbs, remove the crusts and place the bread in a small blender. Pulse a few times, keeping some large breadcrumbs. Put in a small frying pan with a little olive oil and thyme leaves and brown to crisp up. Drain on a piece of kitchen paper.
For the pancetta, cut in thin strips and fry on medium heat in a dry frying pan till crispy.
To poach the eggs, bring a saucepan with plenty of water to a soft boil.
Place a piece of clingfilm in a small bowl and grease it with a few drops of olive oil. Break the egg carefully into it and season it with salt and pepper. Taking the corners of the clingfilm tie a tie knot ensuring that there is no air left with the egg and drop it gently into the water. Let it cook for a few minutes till the white is solid but when touching gently with the spoon the egg is still wobbly. Remove with a slotted spoon. Cut the knot in the clingfilm and place the poached egg on top of your individual parcels or cake. Depending on how many you are serving, you may want to poach 3-4 eggs at the same time.