Cabbage Rolls

Find a kettle that's large enough to accommodate the cabbage. You should be able to turn the cabbage to loosen the leaves as they cook. Fill the kettle half full with water, bring it to the boil and add 1 tbsp of salt. Cut/stab with a knife around the stem of the cabbage so the leaves will come off. Put the cabbage in the water and let it boil for 5 mins with the lid on. As the cabbage cooks, the top leaves start to come off. Gently, without breaking them, pick them up using two ladles or a pair of large tongs. Let the leaves drain well in a sieve. Continue picking the leaves until you have 10-15 of them, then let the rest of the cabbage boil until done. Save the water for later. Finely chop the onion and about 1 cup of the boiled cabbage. In a frying pan, with a splash of oil, gently brown the meat and onions until done, add them to a bowl with the rice/barley grains and cabbage. Add the cream, mix everything together and season with marjoram, salt and pepper. The marjoram will give out more flavor in the oven, so be careful not to overdo it. The filling should have a semi-firm consistency. If it's too soft, mix in 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs. Butter an oven dish. Set the oven to 435F/225C. With a small knife or a veggie peeler, carefully thin out the thick stem on the drained cabbage leaves. Spread out the leaf on a workboard with the stem side closest to you. Place about 3 tbsp of the filling on the leaf in a sausage shape, about an inch from "your side" of the leaf and 2 inches from the edges. Fold "your side" of the leaf over the filling, then flop the sides over it as well. Roll the leaf away from yourself and put it in the dish with the "ugly" side down. Repeat with the rest of the leaves. The oven dish should be quite snuggly packed with rolls. Mix 1 part treacle, 2 parts of the cabbage cooking water into a syrup and drizzle over the rolls. They should be 2/3 covered in the syrup. Add a few small lumps of butter and put the dish in the oven. First, to get nice color, in 430F/225 C for 10 minutes, then in 340F/175C for an hour. Baste the rolls with the syrup for a few times during the cooking. The rolls should have a dark brown color and a sweet-ish flavor.

Find a kettle that's large enough to accommodate the cabbage. You should be able to turn the cabbage to loosen the leaves as they cook. Fill the kettle half full with water, bring it to the boil and add 1 tbsp of salt. Cut/stab with a knife around the stem of the cabbage so the leaves will come off. Put the cabbage in the water and let it boil for 5 mins with the lid on. As the cabbage cooks, the top leaves start to come off. Gently, without breaking them, pick them up using two ladles or a pair of large tongs. Let the leaves drain well in a sieve. Continue picking the leaves until you have 10-15 of them, then let the rest of the cabbage boil until done. Save the water for later. Finely chop the onion and about 1 cup of the boiled cabbage. In a frying pan, with a splash of oil, gently brown the meat and onions until done, add them to a bowl with the rice/barley grains and cabbage. Add the cream, mix everything together and season with marjoram, salt and pepper. The marjoram will give out more flavor in the oven, so be careful not to overdo it. The filling should have a semi-firm consistency. If it's too soft, mix in 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs. Butter an oven dish. Set the oven to 435F/225C. With a small knife or a veggie peeler, carefully thin out the thick stem on the drained cabbage leaves. Spread out the leaf on a workboard with the stem side closest to you. Place about 3 tbsp of the filling on the leaf in a sausage shape, about an inch from "your side" of the leaf and 2 inches from the edges. Fold "your side" of the leaf over the filling, then flop the sides over it as well. Roll the leaf away from yourself and put it in the dish with the "ugly" side down. Repeat with the rest of the leaves. The oven dish should be quite snuggly packed with rolls. Mix 1 part molasses, 2 parts of the cabbage cooking water into a syrup and drizzle over the rolls. They should be 2/3 covered in the syrup. Add a few small lumps of butter and put the dish in the oven. First, to get nice color, in 430F/225 C for 10 minutes, then in 340F/175C for an hour. Baste the rolls with the syrup for a few times during the cooking. The rolls should have a dark brown color and a sweet-ish flavor.