Lentil and Rice Cabbage Rolls
Cabbage rolls are pretty regular with my family, more so because my husband Derek is Polish. I usually make my mother-in-laws recipe with ground pork and rice. Since I am trying to encourage a balance of vegetarian and meat dishes, I created this vegetarian option. If you have tried my Baked Lentil and Rice Stuffed Onions, they are similar and just as delicious. My mother-in-law Mary insists when I am making cabbage rolls for her son, that tomato soup is a must and traditional to her family recipe. Well, who am I to argue with a Polish mother-in-law, 😉 which btw, her cabbage rolls are incredibly delicious. These cabbage rolls are not just Cypriot and Polish inspired but they also incorporate a little Indian inspiration. I incorporated Chef Dev’s flavourful Bombay Tomato Soup for the Indian inspiration. Chef Dev is a celebrity Toronto Chef and Executive Chef at CHEFDEV, he is frequently featured on Television and is a regular on Cityline. He is also a spokesperson for the Dairy Farmers of Canada. His soup line is absolutely delicious with so much flavour. Its just soup with simple ingredients and nothing else. His tomato soup is made with Italian strained tomatoes, white onion, organic cane sugar, organic extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, tumeric, garam masala, chili powder and amchur powder. These ingredients elevated my cabbage rolls in the most delicious and aromatic flavours. His soups are available through Mema Foods International Sobeys, Food Land Ontario Freshco and more.
For me, it’s so important to support local, especially during these trying times. Chef Dev’s soup are not only local but truly wonderful. He is also a talented Chef and wonderful person. His goal “to elevate your relationship with food and experience flavours that question your very existence” is a philosophy I admire . You can also follow all of Chef Dev’s adventures and culinary journey on his ChefDevan Instagram account!
You must give this recipe a try as I promise you, it will become one of your favourites as well. xoxo
Lentil and Rice Cabbage Rolls
Materials
- 1 1/4 cup dried green lentils or 3 1/2 cup canned rinsed and drained
- 1 medium savoy green cabbage
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 1 cup short grain white rice uncooked
- 1 cup Italian flat leaf parsley finely chopped
- 2 tbsp dried mint or dried oregano or dried basil whatever you have
- 580 mL Chef Devan's Bombay Tomato Soup or tomato soup
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- juice of one large lemon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 2 1/2 cup vegetable stock
Instructions
- Place dried lentils in a large bowl and cover with hot water and let soak overnight!
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Bring a large pot filled with water 3/4 way up to a boil. wash and trim the end of the cabbage just enough to keep the cabbage in-tack. Place cabbage in boiling water and boil until soft, about 10 -12 minutes. Remove and rinse with cold water to cool off, Carefully remove cabbage layers. There should be about 15-16 layers that you will be stuffing. Save 5 or 6 of the remaining smaller layers and finely chop the remaining small heart of the cabbage.
- Drain lentils and place back in bowl. Add chopped onions, rice, parsley, dried herb you are using, half of the Bombay tomato soup, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 of lemon juice, chopped cabbage, salt and pepper, mix well.
- Cut the thick part of the cabbage leaves before you start rolling them. Take a paring knife and cut a V-shape out of the bottom of each leaf to remove the tough rib.
- Lay each cabbage leaf on a flat surface.
- Add about 1/3 cup (a little more for the large leaves) of the lentil mixture into a log shape and place in the centre of a cabbage leaf. Roll the cabbage leaf around the lentil mixture. Repeat with remaining mixture and cabbage leaves and place the cabbage rolls seam side down in the baking dish. I used an 10′ inch round dish but a 9×13 baking dish works as well.
- Drizzle rolls with remaining 2 tbsp of oil and remaining lemon juice. Pour the vegetable stock and the remaining soup over the cabbage rolls. Lay the extra leaves of cabbage on top of the rolls.
- Cover with foil and cook for 1 hour.
- Turn off oven and let stand covered in oven for 15 minutes for them to absorb some of their liquid.
