STUFFED CABBAGE LASAGNA

Stuffed Cabbage Lasagna image

This is based on a recipe from Lydie Marshall's cookbook, Slow-Cooked Comfort. She says of this recipe, "When I have leftover meat from a stew, I grind it and freeze it.... With ground pork, I make a pork and cabbage lasagna: layers of ground meat and cabbage leaves with a white sauce on top. Because the pork is already cooked, this is a relatively quick dish to prepare." I think this is a good cross between lasagne and cabbage rolls with a very appetizing appearance. This dish can be prepared several hours ahead of time before being placed in the oven.

Provided by mersaydees

Categories One Dish Meal

Time 1h30m

Yield 8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 14

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Ingredients

3 lbs savoy cabbage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground pork or 1 lb leftover pork, that you've ground
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup tomato sauce (I used Tomato Sauce #335847 recommended by Lydie Marshall)
salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon crushed hot pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups white sauce (I used White Sauce #334376 recommended by Lydie Marshall)
parchment paper, for covering the dish before placing in oven

Steps:

Discard the tough outer cabbage leaves. Using a small pointed knife to help disengage the leaves, gently separate the remaining leaves from the stalk.
In a stockpot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage leaves and return to a boil. Boil until the leaves are semisoft, about 10 minutes.
Drain the cabbage in a colander set in the kitchen sink and let cool while you make the ground pork stuffing.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and brown the ground meat for 2 minutes; add the onion, garlic, tomato paste, and tomato sauce and stir. Sprinkle with salt, freshly ground pepper, and hot pepper flakes. Cover and simmer over low to medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Set aside 2 tablespoons of grated cheese. Using a wooden spoon, whisk the egg into the ground meat with the remaining cheese.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Organize the cabbage leaves into three piles. Layer 1/3 of the cabbage leaves in a buttered 3-quart rectangular or oval ovenproof baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and spread half the ground meat over the cabbage. Layer another 1/3 of the cabbage leaves over the stuffing and add the remaining meat stuffing. Cover with the remaining cabbage leaves.
Pour the white sauce over the cabbage and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Cover the dish with parchment paper.
(At this stage you can wait several hours before baking it. You may want to turn off the oven unless you're using it for something else!).
Bake the casserole in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes; discard the parchment, and continue cooking uintil the cheese browns slightly.
Serve piping hot.