Cabbage or savoy cabbage, whatever it is called, is not the sexiest vegetables at first glance, but similar to red beets: once you’ve got a taste for it, you’ll love it. I like to process it into soups or in my hot favorite: cabbage lasagna. My Instagram followers loved the recipe, and many of them sent me very positive feedback. A reason more to give this meal a try!
I would never believe that cabbage can replace pasta that well if I wouldn’t try it. If you miss your pasta, and you are a fan of lasagna, you will love this cabbage lasagna recipe. The cabbage is the best pasta substitute even it is hard to believe at first. My biggest reward is when my small kids eat everything without a word – this was this case. If I have told them, that they’re eating cabbage, they would probably never trust me again.
Of course, you can try out various fillings for your cabbage lasagna. I decided on the first attempt to go traditional – Lasagna Bolognese. The Italians take their time for cooking and eating. Therefore, in Italy, a Bolognese sauce may well be on the stove for several hours. Your homemade sauce should be allowed to simmer for one to two hours. So the ingredients combine to form a creamy sauce. To make your job easier, you can also use peeled canned tomatoes for your Bolognese instead of fresh ones. That will save you the tedious over brewing and skinning.
How homemade Bolognese becomes even more aromatic
I added a chopped garlic clove to the sauce in addition to the onion. As garlic burns faster, it comes just before the hack in the pan. You can also try to add 150 grams (5oz) of minced pancetta, which gives the sauce a hearty taste.
A unique aroma receives the sauce through a dash of dry red wine. For this purpose, the wine is not poured merely into the tomato sauce but serves for extinguishing. If the minced meat is crumbly fried and seasoned, stir in a small glass of red wine and thereby loosen the mixture on the bottom of the pan. The alcohol evaporates – the aroma remains. When the wine is boiled, the tomatoes can come to it.
If the Bolognese is to be particularly fruity, add a handful of dried tomatoes to the sauce with the fresh tomatoes. Soak them in warm water for a few minutes before use and roll them. Dried tomatoes are very aromatic, so they should not be used exclusively – otherwise, the sauce will be too sour.
To soften the intense taste of Bolognese, you can finally stir in some cream. The culmination of the classic Bolognese recipe is Parmesan. Rub it fresh from the piece or slice fine slices, which you spread over your bolognese.
Ingredients
1 cabbage
500 g/ 17,5 oz mixed pork/beef
1 onion, finely minced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
800 g/ 28 oz chopped can tomatoes
Salt & pepper
150 g/ 5,3 oz grated mozzarella cheese
Olive oil & butter
Instructions
- Parboil leaves in salted boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Drain and remove excess water with a towel, and divide the cabbage into single leaves.
- Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan, fry the minced meat in it and add the chopped onions and the parsley. (5 minutes)
- Add the garlic slices and tomato paste and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the canned tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook the sauce for at least half an hour with the pot open.
- Place a layer of cooked cabbage leaves in a buttered oven dish. Spread some bolognese ragù on top. So fill the mold layer by layer.
- Sprinkle thickly with grated cheese, place butter flakes on top.
- Bake the lasagne at 180 ° C in the oven for about 30-40 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
1 comment
I love cabbage rolls so I will probably love this, also. Looks yummy.