A classic and comforting delicious Russian dish!
This dish makes for a very tasty combination of rice and beef wrapped in cabbage leaves, served in a tomato and yoghurt sauce. It does take some time to put together, but is worth the wait and is impressive. The recipe we have put together here is based on Wally’s grandmother’s recipe and is a typical way to cook this dish.
Servings
4-6
Prep time:
20min
Cook time:
40min
Difficulty:
Medium
Ingredients
- 500g minced beef
- 200g Greek yoghurt
- 125g white rice
- 2 medium onions
- 1 savoy cabbage
- 1 can chopped tomatoes (400g)
- 3 bay leaves
- 2tbsp fresh dill or dill tops
- 2tbsp tomato puree
- 1tsp sugar
- 1tbsp salt
- Salt and pepper to taste
Ideally you would use minced braising steak here, however shop bought minced beef works as well. Instead of the Greek yoghurt you can use crème fraîche.
This dish goes well with crème fraîche or soured cream, and it can be served with other Russian dishes such as cabbage Piroshki or Koulibiaca as part of a tasty menu or feast.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
First prep the cabbage: remove the leaves one by one, and then cut out the tough stalks. How many leaves you’ll use depends on how big your cabbage is- we used around two-thirds of a medium-sized cabbage. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the salt.
Step 2
Add a few of the cabbage leaves to the pan, blanch these for a few minutes until they are soft, then carefully remove, place on a tea towel and pat dry. Repeat with the remaining cabbage leaves.
Step 3
If using fresh dill, chop this then set aside.
Cook the rice as per instructions, then transfer into a bowl, add the chopped dill or dill tops and mix well.
Step 4
Meanwhile, chop the onions.
Heat the oil in a pan, then add the chopped onion and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Next, add the mince to the pan, break up any chunks with a wooden spoon, stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Step 5
Once the beef is cooked, add this and the onions to the bowl with the rice, then mix everything well together- this will be the filling for the cabbage leaves.
Step 6
In a casserole dish (one that can go in the oven), pour the chopped tomatoes, add the bay leaves, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything, then cook for a 2-3 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Step 7
Next, add the Greek yoghurt to the tomato sauce alongside the tomato puree, mix well, turn down the heat to low and let it cook while you put together and roll the cabbage leaves.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).
Step 8
To put together the cabbage leaves themselves, place around two tablespoons of the filling in the middle of the leaf, then wrap up the leaves, tucking in the sides to form a parcel. Turn over and place into the pan so the fold is at the bottom. Repeat for the other cabbage leaves, placing them all in a single layer into the sauce.
Step 9
Once the oven is preheated, place the dish into the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes. If the cabbage leaves start getting too brown and are starting to burn, cover the dish.
Step 10
The dish is now ready to serve. Enjoy!
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