Bite Me!

Cabbage may not be the most elegant of vegetables, but it is certainly good for you (see here for how it may help prevent breast cancer), and it is very versatile. It’s also a staple for this time of year if, like me, you try and eat vegetables that are in season. I love it sliced thinly in stir-fries and noodle soups, or in a creamy pasta sauce, but if you want it to be the focus of your meal you can’t beat a dish of stuffed cabbage. My recipe is as follows:

Ingredients

one cabbage

tin of chopped tomatoes

two tbsp tomato puree

one onion, finely chopped

three cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

a large handful of mushrooms, chopped

half a bag of quorn chicken style pieces

olive oil

salt

pepper

handful of cheddar, grated

Method

Gently fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft, then add the mushrooms and quorn pieces. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes, or until the quorn pieces are cooked, then add salt and pepper to taste. Now remove the largest leaves from the cabbage and trim the hard stalky bits from the bottom of each leaf. In the centre of each leaf, place a large spoonful of the tomato and quorn mixture, and wrap the leaf around it to create a small parcel. Place the parcels in a dish, tightly packed together, and spoon any remaining tomato mixture over the top, followed by the grated cheddar. Note: if your tomato mixture does not completely cover the cabbage it will burn on top unless you use a lidded dish. I quite like burnt cabbage but I suspect most people would disagree. Now place in the oven on a medium heat (around Gas Mark 6 or 7) and cook until the cabbage is soft and the cheese browned (if you are using a lidded dish you will have to take the lid off for the last 10 mins or so if you want the cheese to brown). Serve with mashed potato.