Description
Nordic dolmas … with an Italian twist
Ingredients
Scale
- 400g minced pork meat
- 1 head of savoy cabbage
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- A handful of sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
- 10–12 leaves of fresh sage, finely chopped
- 8 anchovy fillets
- 2 tbs breadcrumbs
- 1 small egg, whisked
- 2 tbs of milk
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 liter of vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions
- Mix the mince meat with the onion, garlic, sage, tomatoes, anchovies, breadcrumbs and the whisked egg. Add a bit of milk until it has the consistency of a soft meatball mixture.
- Fry a tablespoon of the mixture in a pan to make sure you have got the seasoning right. Add salt and pepper accordingly.
- Pick and wash eight of the biggest cabbage leaves.
- Blanch them in boiling water for about three minutes until soft so they can be folded. Move to ice water, drain and leave to dry on kitchen towel.
- Lay each of these down down flat – so it looks like the maple leaf in the Canadian flag – and trim the stem so it becomes flush with the rest of the leaf. Be careful not to tear the leaf.
- Place a lump of the pork mixture, about the size of a small egg, in the middle of each leaf. Roll the cabbage leaf around the meat and fold the two sides underneath. You can use your hands to firm it up and squeeze in excess water, but be careful not to tear the leaf. It’s a bit like when you are trying to shape a snowball.
- Place on a bit of cling film and tighten it up until it starts squeezing the contents. Leave the cabbage parcels in the fridge for about 30-40 minutes so they firm up a bit.
- Unwrap the dolmas and brown them in the butter on both sides in a deep pan or pot.
- With the ‘open’ side facing down, pour over enough stock so it almost covers the dolmas. They should look like fat little crocodile hovering on the edge of the water. Poach them for about 30 minutes.
- Drain and serve with shavings of Parmesan cheese, tomato salad or whatever else tickles your fancy.