Lamb and Feta Stuffed Cabbage
The food of Greece, and its neighboring countries that have similar recipes, often with different names, is perhaps my favorite of all regional cuisines. The use of beautiful, natural ingredients, the creamy, but salty, feta cheese, and the creative use of spices and oregano in these rustic dishes create flavor profiles unlike any other in the world.
These stuffed cabbage rolls (known as lahanodolmades in Greece) are slow-simmered in a slightly sweet, ouzo-infused tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 cabbage (green) (about 3 lb.), outer leaves discarded, cored
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
- 1/2 cups short grain rice such as Arborio
- 1/4 cups parsley finely chopped fresh
- 1 tbs oregano finely chopped fresh
- 1 tbs lemon juice fresh
- 1 tbs ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds crushed
- 1/4 cups olive oil
- 1 can tomato 15-oz, crushed
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/3 cups ouzo or sambuca
Instructions
- Fill a tall, 8-quart (or larger) pot with enough water to submerge the whole cabbage and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil the cabbage until the outer leaves are bright green and start to pull away, about 4 minutes. Carefully pull them off with tongs and lay them on a baking sheet lined with a kitchen towel. Continue boiling the cabbage and removing its leaves in layers as they soften until the entire cabbage is cooked, 15 to 20 minutes total. Let cool.
- In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the lamb, onion, egg, feta, rice, parsley, oregano, lemon juice, cumin, fennel, 2-1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper.
- With a paring knife, remove the hard ribs from the cabbage leaves. Cut the larger leaves in half lengthwise.
- Coat the bottom of an 8- to 9-quart Dutch oven with the olive oil. Arrange several cabbage leaves on a work surface so they run lengthwise away from you. Working with one leaf, put about 1-1/2 Tbs. of the lamb mixture on the end closest to you.
- Fold the long sides in toward the lamb, and then roll away from you to enclose the meat. Put the roll in the pot, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining cabbage and filling, arranging the rolls in a snug single layer (if necessary, add a loosely packed second layer).
- Combine the tomatoes, broth, and ouzo in a medium bowl and pour the mixture over the rolls. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook, shaking the pot occasionally so the rolls don’t stick, until the rice in the filling is completely tender, 60 to 90 minutes.
Notes
TIP:
Use only short-grain rice in the filling; or cook a long-grain rice until it begins to soften, allow it to cool and then prepare the stuffing.
Use only short-grain rice in the filling; or cook a long-grain rice until it begins to soften, allow it to cool and then prepare the stuffing.
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