Recette (Recipe): Pasta-free Stuffed Cabbage Lasagna
This Was an Accident Chez Moi, but Now It's on Rotation!
When the autumn chill rolls in, I always get a hankering for stuffed cabbage. Like my marriage, this was a delicious later-in-life love affair that started in New York with my former Belarusian bookkeeper Larisa, who would bring a week’s worth of homemade little bundles for me, all chubby and nestled in an oversized plastic wonton soup container.
Here in France, we already have délicieux prepared chou farci (stuffed cabbage) at almost every good boucher (butcher), du coup, d’habitude je l’achète (so I normally just buy it). But a couple of weeks ago, I was meandering around on Substack when I came across Paul Bertolli’s mesmerizing Whole Stuffed Cabbage recipe thanks to a note by The Camont Journals with Kate Hill.
Si tu t’en fiches (if you don’t care) about stuffed cabbage in any form, just scroll down for some great astuces (tips) on how to easily inject un petit peu de French flair into your holiday gatherings
In Chef Bertolli’s version, the farce (stuffing) is laced among the leaves of a whole cabbage (rather than stuffed inside), and then the whole shebang is covered in farce and wall-papered in more cabbage leaves to look like a “regular” cabbage that is hiding secrets. It is a thing of beauty—although somewhat daunting as a project—and I just had to try it.
So there I was, in the kitchen chopping up my mise en place (ingredients), a giant head of cabbage boiling in the biggest pot I have, when Monsieur B walked in from work.
“Mais qu’est-ce que tu fais, mon amour ?” (What are you doing, my love?)
I started in with the whole story and all the steps and I think he saw that at 19h30 —pronounced deez-nuv-urr-TRAHNT— (7:30 PM) I was still in the beginning stages of this rather complex cabbage caper. But as he has a habit of doing, my sweet husband (who happens to be a great cook) stepped in with a brilliant idea.
He said (not discouragingly, but as if to allow me a way out of my cruciferous quandary), “Si j’étais à ta place, je ferais une sorte de lasagnes en utilisant des feuilles de chou à la place des pâtes.” (If I were you, I’d make a kind of lasagna using the cabbage leaves in place of pasta.)
Side note for all my French language lovers: I struggled so long with this type of classic sentence structure (“if I were…then I would…”), that I actually first stopped to repeat after Monsieur B to help reinforce this construction in my constant learner’s brain ha! Then I thought, “He’s cute. And by golly, he’s got something there!”
Is it son doctorat (his PhD) in engineering that grants him this talent for optimizing? I know not. All I do know is it felt right to me, so I instantly agreed, as I almost always do when someone has a better idea. Et tu sais quoi ? (And you know what?) It turned out to be a revelation.
Much lighter than a traditional lasagna, but the cabbage holds up its layers like a champ and absorbs the flavorful sauce beautifully. Undoubtedly less visually impressive than Paul Bertolli’s concealed cabbage chef-d’ɶuvre (masterpiece) but perfect for a chilly night between big holiday meals or when you want something cozy without all the carbs. I hope you’ll try it and tell me what you think.
This Stuffed Cabbage Lasagna also makes a luscious lunch, side dish or first course for a festive dinner. Check out the little video below. Plus you can make it the day before your gathering and you know what? It will be even better. Bon appétit !
VEGETARIAN ALERT: Si j’étais à ta place, je ferais cette recette avec des petits veggie crumbles à la place de la viande hachée (if I were you, I’d make this recipe with veggie crumbles in place of the ground meat. See what I did there? Anyhow, Try it and let me know?
STUFFED CABBAGE LASAGNA
Serves 6 and is great as leftovers
Preparation time: 30 mins. Cooking time: 50 mins — 1 hour
Enjoyment Time: Whenever it’s in your mouth!
Pairs well with: a cru Beaujolais
INGREDIENTS
1 lb (500 grams) Ground Meat. This recipe works great with all beef or all turkey, for example, but I sometimes like to blend meats or use what I have. It’s not always easy to get ground turkey or ground chicken in France. The version in the photos is du boeuf (beef).
1/2 head of Cabbage
Curly or not—the flat version takes longer to cook
Depending on the size, you’ll likely need 9-12 leaves for 3 layers
2 medium Carrots, diced
1 stalk Celery, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Shallot, minced
1 can Crushed Tomatoes (400g/
2 cups Shredded Cheese
I like Gruyère or Comté, but you could also use goat cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano (optional)
1/4 cup fresh Parsley, chopped finely
I didn’t have any today so I used dried herbes de Provence which is great too.
Salt to taste
1 handful fresh Basil leaves (optional for serving)
Optional: I sometimes add a pinch or two of some or all of the following to the sauce while it’s cooking, just depending on my mood! Together they add just a hint of sweet earthiness.
Cumin
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
PREPARATION
STEP ONE
Steam or boil your cabbage. The key is to end up with tender leaves that are not completely flaccid (what a great word!), as they will continue cooking in the oven. Steaming takes longer and I don’t have a steaming pot in Paris, so I just pull off leaves and place them gently into boiling water. For curly cabbage (as in the video), generally 8-10 minutes. For the flatter white cabbage, approximately 15 minutes, or until the stems are a bit tender.
A curly cabbage softens up faster than a standard cabbage, and outer leaves take longer than inner leaves, but your sign will be when the core gives way to your knife or when you can easily tear a leaf.
Hint: If your cabbage has very tough central stalks, you can cut or tear around them and use just the softer leaves.
STEP TWO
Make the sauce. Your sauce for this recipe will be la farce (the stuffing) you would normally put inside your cabbages, minus the eggs that would hold it together.
In a big skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, add your ground meat and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add in your carrot/celery/garlic/shallot mix. Stir every few minutes and let the vegetables soften up just a bit.
STEP THREE
STIR in the crushed tomatoes. Add the parsley or herbs de Provence and let the mixture cook for another 5-7 minutes. Your carrots and celery should be tender but not overly soft, since they’ll continue to cook in the oven.
STEP FOUR
Layer your lasagna. In a rectangular baking dish (mine is 2 quarts or 7”X11”), start with a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Next, arrange a layer of cabbage leaves and top it with one third of the sauce (you can absolutely tear the leaves to make the pieces fit). Finish the layer with the shredded cheese and parmesan (if using). Repeat until you have three layers of cabbage and a final topping of sauce. Finish the final layer with the cheese.
STEP FIVE
Bake the lasagna in a 375 degree oven for 50 mins — 1 hour. Cooking time will vary according to your cabbage type, so keep an eye on it. If it starts to brown too much, cover it with aluminum foil. The test for doneness is that the topping is crispy, the cheese is melted, and the cabbage gives easily when you cut into it with a knife.
If you like, you can finish with a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh basil leaves, but that’s optional.
Bonne dégustation les ami(e)s !
