I love cabbage rolls. My mother-in-law Elsa made them for me the first time in the early 80’s. she mixed beef and pork together with onions and rice, placed them in cabbage leaves and tied them with thread. She called this peasant-food. Her son John and I called it heaven. The first time I tried making cabbage rolls I was surprise just how bad I was at getting the leaves separated from the head in one piece. I kept saying, “It can’t be that hard!” I decided to get out of the box and approach it differently. Why not turn it into a casserole I thought? It would be less time-consuming and we could enjoy it more often. While I was getting out of the box, I decided to use ground lamb, different spices and feta for a different take on it completely.
Assembling the ingredients
Doing the cabbage ‘rolls’ as a casserole allowed me to follow my own whimsy. I could shake it up a bit with non-traditional spices and be able to enjoy more cabbage in the process.
Lots more cabbage!
Cabbage and Lamb Casserole:
1 medium head green cabbage (about 2 lbs), core removed, halved and sliced into 1/2 inch sections
1 lb grass-fed ground lamb
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large farm-fresh egg
8 oz (1 cup) crumbled local feta
1/2 cup short-grain rice, such as Arborio
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, finely chopped (11/2 tsp dried)
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (I use our own canned tomatoes)
1 cup chicken stock (I also used homemade)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 13×9 inch casserole dish with ghee.
Cut cabbage in half, core, then slice in 1/2 inch wedges. Place the wedges in casserole dish so they overlap each other in two rows.
In a large bowl, use your hand to combine the lamb, onion, egg, rice, parsley, oregano, lemon juice, feta, cumin, fennel, salt and pepper. Place mixture on top of cabbage, leaving a 1 inch space round the sides of the casserole so that the cabbage shows through.
Combine the tomatoes and chicken broth in a medium bowl, then pour the mixture over the meat. Cover with foil (shiny side down).
Bake covered for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes.
Serves 6
Ready for the oven
New Traditions!
“A smiling face is half the meal.” —Latvian quote
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