Turkish Lamb Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Spiced Dill Yoghurt

A really tasty Turkish dish that's delicious, filling and comforting...

You could even convert cabbage haters with this one, as it tastes so good - and if there are small people around they could even help making the rolls, as the lamb is cooked off before assembling (making them more likely to eat it!).

Makes enough rolls for 8 servings - I freeze half for a really easy dinner another time that can be cooked straight from frozen, and cook half now. If you feel too lazy to make rolls, see Notes for an alternative method!

Ingredients
[Calories in square brackets]

• 1 large or 2 small cabbages (Savoy preferably, or green, yields enough for 8 - I use two around 450g each as this yields enough larger leaves to stuff, and you will have plenty left over to shred for the bottom of the dish) [256 calories for 800g]
• 400g chopped tomatoes (tinned is fine, plus 600g for the frozen portion when cooking it after defrosting) [100]
• 250ml lamb stock (plus same again for the frozen portion when cooking)
• Olive oil / olive oil spray
• Optional butter 
• Optional fresh pomegranate seeds to garnish
  
  

For the stuffing

• (Makes enough for 8)
• 500g minced lamb (5% fat if counting calories/Slimming World, normal if not)
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp mild/light olive oil(1 tbsp + Oil Spray for Slimming World)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 185g basmati rice
• 1/2 tbsp ground cinammon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1.5 tbsp dried oregano
• 1.5 tbsp dried mint
• 1/2 tbsp ground sumac
• 1 lemon (zest, and juice of half of it)
• Large handful flatleaf parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Optional 25g dried barberries (or you could use dried, unsweetened cranberries)
  

For the dill yoghurt dressing 
(makes enough for four, double up if cooking the whole batch for eight)

• 250g Greek yoghurt
• Small handful dill, chopped finely (reserve a little to garnish)
• Juice 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp dried mint
• 1/2 tsp sumac (optional, plus extra to garnish)
• Salt and pepper to taste (I use 1/2 tsp salt)
• Pinch of chilli powder or cayenne pepper if you want a kick (optional)
• Glug of good extra virgin olive oil (optional, if you're not counting calories!)

Method

1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, while you remove the leaves from the cabbage (rinse as you go). You will need around 28-30 leaves for stuffing the filling into. Trim the very bottom of the stem from each leaf, then turn it over and with a sharp knife cut most of the tough back stem off without cutting through the leaf (shaving it off with the knife rather than cutting it out). 

2. Blanch the leaves in batches for about 2 minutes per batch, until tender, then remove and set aside to drain and cool. I put in a batch of 6-8 leaves to cook while I prepare the next batch. You will have some cabbage left over which you can shred to put into the bottom of the dish you're baking the rolls in (grease first with butter, or oil spray).

 

3. Boil the kettle and heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan (which has a lid). Add the rice, and fry it for about a minute until all of the grains are coated in oil, then add 375ml boiling water, give it a stir, put the lid on and cook until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is just cooked (about 12 minutes) and then set aside for 5 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, fry the onions in 1/2 tbsp oil until softened and only just starting to turn a little golden, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Set aside in a large bowl. 

5. Add another 1/2 tbsp to the pan, and cook the lamb until browned (try to leave it for a few minutes on one side until nicely browned, then flip over like a burger without breaking up to brown the other side, before breaking up to cook through). Add to the cooked onions in the bowl.

6. To the bowl of lamb and onions, add the 1/2 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tsp allspice, 1.5 tbsp oregano, 1.5 tbsp mint, 1/2 tbsp sumac, zest of the lemon and juice of half the lemon (reserve the other half for the yoghurt sauce), parsley, cooked rice and freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste (I add 1 level tsp to start with) and mix thoroughly. As the lamb and rice are cooked, you can taste for seasoning, and add more if you wish (but the lamb will not be tender at this point, don't worry). If you want it to have a little bit of a kick, you could also add a little chilli powder or cayenne pepper at this point.

7. Stuff the cabbage leaves: Take one leaf with the stalk end nearest to you. put a couple of heaped spoonfuls of the lamb mix near the bottom of the leaf, fold the bottom of the leaf up and over the lamb, fold the sides in, then roll up as tightly as you can without tearing the leaf. When they are all rolled up, you can set approximately half aside to freeze - it will be easiest if you freeze them in one layer, the same shape as your dish, so you can cook them straight from frozen.

8. Grease a dish large enough to take the remaining half of the rolls in one snug layer (with butter, or use oil spray, or brush on oil). Shred any leftover blanched leaves, and raw cabbage (either is good, or a mix of both), and put a generous layer of shredded cabbage on the bottom (about an inch high is good, don't worry if you have less). Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and if desired, dot with some butter (optional).

9. Lay the remaining cabbage rolls, seam side down, in one neat, snug, layer on top of the shredded cabbage. Pour over the chopped tomatoes (400g is fine over fresh or chilled cabbage rolls) and the 250ml of lamb stock. (If you want to cook the whole quantity of cabbage rolls, then simply double the tomatoes and the lamb stock). If you want, you can dot the top with butter. Season.

10. Bake uncovered at gas mark 5 for about 45 minutes until most of the juices have been absorbed, and then cover with foil and bake for a further half an hour until the lamb is tender. It will keep warm in the oven quite happily for up to another hour if you turn the oven down lower at this point. Allow to rest for 5 or 10 minutes when you take it out of the oven.

11. Meanwhile, make the yoghurt sauce by mixing all the ingredients (except the extra virgin olive oil) together with salt to taste. Serve the cabbage rolls drizzled with the yoghurt sauce, and a little extra virgin olive oil and scattered with the reserved dill and a sprinkling of sumac. I like to serve this dish with some form of potatoes that are crispy or roasted, for a difference in texture - it would also be nice with crusty bread and perhaps a salad with Turkish flavours on the side. Optionally sprinkle some fresh pomegranate seeds on top too for more flavour and texture.

Cooking the rolls from frozen

Butter dish, add fresh shredded savoy cabbage (9-10 leaves, rib removed) to bottom of dish. Dot with a few thin slices of butter broken into pieces and season, then place frozen cabbage rolls on top.

Pour over 600g chopped tomatoes, and 1 lamb stock cube dissolved into 250ml boiling water. Season, and dot with butter, then back at gas mark 5 for 45 minutes uncovered, then turn down to gas mark 4, cover with foil and bake for a further  minutes.

Make yoghurt dip as before, serve up and enjoy for minimal effort second time around!


Notes

Lazy hack if you can't be bothered to roll up rolls!

1. Remove ribs from 1 savoy cabbage and shred. Halve a white cabbage, cut out the core, cut into 4 wedges and shred. You'll have around 625g of cabbage or thereabouts. Rinse and spin in a salad spinner to drain off the water.

2. You'll also need 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, seasoning, butter, lamb and rice mix (as above), and 400ml lamb stock made up with 1 lamb stock cube. Optional aleppo pepper / chilli flakes / urfa chilli flakes or whatever your favourite form of chilli is!

3. Butter your dish and layer as follows (or however you like, to be fair!!). 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes (200g) season and sprinkle on your favoured chilli flakes to taste. 1/3 of your shredded cabbage and a few knobs of butter and 1/2 your lamb mix.

4. Then another 1/3 of your cabbage mix, seasoning & optional chilli flakes and a few knobs of butter (I like to just scatter on a few shavings, cut off really thinly from a cold block of butter) and the other half of your tin of chopped tomatoes (200g) roughly spread over.

5. Put the other half of the lamb / rice mix on top of this and spread out with a fork relatively evenly.

6. Finally, put the last third of the cabbage on top, and press it all down as firmly as you dare.

7. Season with salt, pepper and optional allepo chilli flakes, carefully spoon over a tin (400g) of chopped tomatoes, slowly and carefully pour over the lamb stock, and dot with butter.

8. Put into the oven on gas mark 5, and bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes uncovered, then crumble two packs of feta cheese on top (400g in total) and cook for a further 10 minutes, then brown off under the grill for a couple of minutes.

9. Leave to sit for 10 or 15 minutes then serve sprinkled with fresh dill. Could be served with crusty bread, tzatziki, a simple fresh salad or whatever you fancy!