We’ve decide to have a pop at a few Polish dishes as we’re getting a bit bored of freestyling! I might need to learn a few key combinations for their odd letter system, but that’s cool!

Ingredients:-

500g of Beef & Pork mixed mince
1 Cup of boiled White Rice
2 Onions, diced
6 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Cans of Chopped Tomatoes
½ of Cup of Brown Sugar
¾ of a cup of Breadcrumbs (Gluten free for us)
2 Tsp of dried Oregano
2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1 Large Cabbage, blanched
3 Eggs
4 Tbsp of Cider Vinegar
½ of an Apples, grated (Cooking Apple, as it gives a nice sharpness)
120ml of Cabbage Water
Fresh Dill to garnish
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:-

(1) Remove the stalk from the bottom of the Cabbage.
(2) Blanch the whole Cabbage for 3 to 4 minutes.
(3) Remove from the water and allow to cool.
(4) In a large bowl combine the Mince, 1 Diced Onion, Apple, 1 Tsp of Oregano, 3 Cloves of Garlic, Rive, Breadcrumbs, Eggs, Salt & Pepper.
(5) In a flameproof dish heat the Oil and fry the remaining Onion until softened.
(6) Stir in the remaining Garlic and Apple, seasoning with Salt & Pepper.
(7) Add a teaspoon of dried Oregano.
(8) Add the chopped \Tomatoes, Brown Sugar, Cider Vinegar and Cabbage Water.
(9) Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for 15 minutes.
(10) Remove the outer leaves from the Cabbage, cutting the thick core section out in a ‘V’ shape on each leaf.
(11) Place 2 teaspoons of the Mince mixture on each leaf and wrap up tightly.
(12) Line a casserole dish with Cabbage leaves and spoon in enough Tomato based Sauce to cover the leaves.
(13) Add the stuffed Cabbage leaves and pour over the remaining Sauce.
(14) Cover with any remaining leaves and place the lid on the casserole.
(15) Cook in a pre-heated oven at 170c for 40 minutes or until the meat filling is cooked through.
(16) Garnish with freshly chopped Dill.


These made a surprisingly welcome change. The Rice and Breadcrumbs not only packed the meat out making this a very inexpensive dish, but they also absorbed the fat from the meat, making these remarkably finning. WE have enough of the meat mixture left to make hand pressed burgers tonight. So all in all a very cost effective recipe…..