Cabbage, mince meat, rice and chickpeas casserole
2018-06-12- Cuisine: Inspired
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- Servings: 4
Instead of making stuffed cabbage rolls, I thought of this lazy way of alternating layers of cabbage leaves and stuffing (rice and meat mince), then top the last layer with tomato sauce and cooked chickpeas.
Ingredients
- 500g of mince lamb or beef
- 1 cup of round grain rice, soaked beforehand then drained before use
- 5 or 6 whole cabbage leaves, washed (no need to blanch)
- 1/2 tsp of allspice + 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp of black or white pepper + 1/2 tsp of turmeric
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste
- 2 tbsp of olive oil (+ 1 extra for oiling an ovenproof dish) and salt
- Ingredients for tomato sauce: 3 or 4 tomatoes, chopped - 3 garlic cloves, minced - juice of half lemon - a handful of fresh mint, finely chopped - 1 cup of cooked chickpeas - 2 tbsp of olive oil - 1 cup of water - salt & pepper, to taste
Method
Step 1
Oil an ovenproof dish which is more or less as big as the cabbage leaves. If the cabbage leaves are too small use 2 leaves, side by side, instead of 1 big one.
Step 2
Drain the soaked rice and mix it with the mince meat and all other ingredients.
Step 3
Put the first cabbage leaf on the bottom of the dish then spread on top a thin layer of the meat and rice stuffing. Next add another cabbage leaf and spread another layer of the stuffing. Repeat until all cabbage and stuffing are used up, ending with a cabbage leaf. Put aside (to prepare the sauce) and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Step 4
Combine the tomatoes with water, spices, lemon juice, olive oil, mint, chickpeas and salt then pour the sauce over the stuffed cabbage, cover with a foil and bake for about 1 hour.
Step 5
When cooked (check with the tip of a sharp knife), remove the foil and continue to bake for another 10 minutes to give a nice caramelised colour to the dish.
Step 6
Divide portions with a knife and serve the same way you would serve a lasagna. A nice green salad will be perfect as a side dish!
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