Potato and Apple Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Walnut Butter and Gruyère
Here we are again: I've reached that critical time of the year - as always in February - when it's still all about cabbage and roots at the market, but I start dreaming of juicy tomatoes and cucumbers, sweet berries and peaches, and seafood dinners at the sea - my mind, impatient and hungry, is already settled in summer.
Luckily, February is quite a short month, then we have March, which at least offers ramps towards its end. In April I can feel the sun getting warmer, the sky becomes brighter, and the produce on my counter tops slowly starts to look more colorful. But for now, I must wait and enjoy what I've got - a beautiful crisp head of cabbage.
I blanched the large outer cabbage leaves and stuffed them with boiled potatoes, sour apple, fresh thyme, and a few spoonfuls of mascarpone, instead of sour cream, to bind the mixture. My personal highlight was the topping of crunchy walnut butter and freshly grated Gruyère. Any aromatic hard cheese would work here, but there's something about this combination of the roasted nuts and this slightly sweet Swiss cheese that fits perfectly to these little wintery cabbage packages.
Potato and Apple Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Walnut Butter and Gruyère
For the cabbage rolls
large white or green cabbage leaves 8
peeled potatoes, boiled and chopped, about 250g / 9 ounces
small apple, peeled, cored and chopped, 1
fresh thyme leaves 1 tablespoon
mascarpone (or sour cream or ricotta) 3 tablespoons
organic egg 1
nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
fine sea salt
ground pepper
white wine
For the walnut butter
butter 60g / 1/4 cup
walnuts, roughly chopped, 25g / 1 ounce
For the topping
Gruyère, or any aromatic hard cheese, finely grated, about 2 tablespoons
a few fresh thyme leaves
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
For the cabbage leaves, take a large cabbage head and trim the bottom. Carefully peel off 8 large outer leaves. If they tear a little, it's fine. You'll only need 4-5 blanched leaves, blanch the remaining leaves to cover torn patches in the leaves that you use for the rolls.
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
In a large pot, bring salted water to the boil and blanch the cabbage leaves for about 4-6 minutes or until tender. Rinse quickly under cold water, drain and cut out the hard stalk (in a slim triangle-shape).
For the filling, in a large bowl, combine the boiled potatoes, apple, and thyme. Whisk together the mascarpone and egg and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add to the potato-apple mixture, stir to combine, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Lay 4-5 cabbage leaves flat on the kitchen counter and cover torn parts with soft pieces of the remaining leaves. Put a generous tablespoon of the filling in the middle of each cabbage leaf, fold up the sides and roll it up, starting from the side of the stalk. Don't worry if they don't look perfect, mine didn't either. They can all have their individual shape.
Transfer the cabbage rolls to a baking dish and cover the bottom with a splash of white wine and some water. Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until golden and firm.
While the cabbage rolls are baking in the oven, prepare the walnut butter: In a small saucepan, melt the butter on high heat. When it's sizzling hot, add the walnuts and turn the heat down to medium. Roast for 10-20 seconds or until golden but not dark. Take the saucepan off the heat.
Divide the cabbage rolls between plates and drizzle with a little butter. Sprinkle with the roasted walnuts, fresh thyme, Gruyère, and crushed pepper.
Ginger Lemon Ricotta stuffed Cabbage Rolls
The idea for this quick lunch started with leftover ricotta in the fridge and lots of ginger roots, tons of lemons and a lonely cabbage on the kitchen counter. Sometimes these days bring out the best recipes!
A while ago I heard about a traditional Maltese recipe which uses ricotta and raisins to stuff white cabbage leaves. The raisins didn't strike me as much, although I want to try it one day, but the ricotta caught my attention. I mixed it with some eggs, parmesan and lemon zest like I did for my Moussaka in May and I also added plenty of tangy ginger, that gave the whole dish an Asian inspired touch. The large leaves were blanched for just a few minutes, the filling was whipped together even quicker and off it went into the oven. My rolls turned out more like packages, I just lack the skill and patience, but that didn't do them any harm. I served them with fresh lemon butter and even more zest, cheese and ginger on top. We were more than impressed!
Ginger Lemon Ricotta stuffed Cabbage Rolls
For 2 as a main or 4 as a side dish you need
large white / green cabbage leaves 8
ricotta 200g / 7 ounces
organic eggs 2
freshly grated Parmesan 20g / 1 ounce, plus more for the topping
lemon zest 1 teaspoon, plus more for the topping
fresh ginger, grated, 2 teaspoons, plus more for the topping
salt
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
white wine to cook the cabbage rolls
For the lemon butter
butter 50g / 2 ounces
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
Set the oven to 200°C / 390°F (fan-assisted oven).
Heat the butter in a sauce pan with the lemon juice.
Whisk the ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, zest, ginger, salt and pepper and season to taste.
Blanch the cabbage leaves in lots of salted water for about 4-6 minutes or until soft. Rinse them under cold water, drain them and cut out the hard stalk. Dry them with a kitchen paper and lay them flat on the kitchen counter. Put a tablespoon of the ricotta filling in the middle of the cabbage leaves, fold up both sides and roll it up.
Gently place the cabbage rolls in a baking dish and cover the bottom with a splash of white wine and some water. You might have to add some more water while the rolls are cooking. Cook in the hot oven for about 25 minutes or until golden and the filling is set. Serve with the lemon butter and some more Parmesan, zest, ginger and pepper.
