These savoy cabbage rolls are tastier than tasty. And beautiful. And they are both simple and quick to make. You can even prepare them a day before you intend to eat them. Works on a buffét or as a meal on its own. Filled with minced lamb, grated beetroot and carrots, scallions and garlic. Serve with a good salad and feta cheese. Before the rolls get put into the oven they are brushed with a mixture of olive oil and honey. The honey helps remove any potential bitterness from the cabbage.

Cut the strings off when they come out of the oven.

The beetroot gives a beautiful red colour to the filling.

I made quite a big batch and made some of the filling into meatballs that got put into the oven at the same time as the rolls. The outer green leaves of the cabbage are the most beautiful ones but the inner ones are more tender. The grated beetroots and carrots make the filling very juicy and rich. Don’t skimp on the salt and pepper when you put the spices in. Serve with a big salad, preferably with feta cheese.

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 savoy cabbages
  • 1 kilo of minced lamb
  •  400 ml of finely grated carrot
  • 200 ml of rough grated beetroot
  • 2 pretty large cloves of garlic
  • 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
  • 200 ml creme fraiche
  • salt, white pepper and black pepper
  • Pudding string
    Brush with a mixture of olive oil and honey (approx: 5-6 tsp olive oil and 1 tbsp honey.

Method:

  1. Put the oven on 180-200 degrees (I use the gratinate setting)
  2. Start with picking all usable leaves of the savoy cabbage, rinse and carefully cut out the thickest part of the centre rib (approx 2 cm) Do not cut     the leaf in two ( you need them whole)  only cut out the end. This is to make the rolling easier.
  3. Mix all the ingredients for the filling and add the spices.
  4. Fill each leaf and roll them up. For the leaf to be able to hold the filling – tie a fairly long string around each roll.
  5. Put all the rolls on a tray or a heatproof dish.
  6. Brush the top of the rolls with the olive oil mix.
  7. Put the rolls into the oven for approx: 15-20 min.
  8. Cut the strings before serving.

Good luck!