Braised Stuffed Cabbage Pierre Schaedelin has also worked at some of the world’s finest restaurants, including Le Louis XV in Monaco; Auberge de l’Ill and Fer Rouge in France; and Monte’s in London. Pierre recently served as Martha’s Stewart’s private chef for two years before joining the team as executive chef and partner of Alain Ducasse’s traditional French bistro Benoit in New York. Nice 

Ingredients 

Serves 4

1 Savoy cabbage

1/3 cup rice

2 minced onions

2 minced garlic cloves

3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup sausage meat

1 egg, beaten

Salt & pepper

2 cups vegetable broth

1 carrot

4 thin slices smoked pork belly

1 sprig of thyme

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup thick, fresh tomato sauce

Method 

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Remove the core and tough outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut right around the stem very deeply to remove as much as possible of the core without detaching the leaves. 

2. Plunge the cabbage into the boiling water and boil for 15 minutes. Drain it and rinse under cold running water.

3. Cook the rice for 15 minutes in salted boiling water. Rinse the parsley, pat it dry, remove the leaves and mince them.

4. Heat the oil in a sauté pan. Sauté the onions and the garlic, add the sausage meat and mash it with a fork. Cook for around 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until there is no more liquid. Remove it from the heat and add the parsley, drained rice, then the beaten egg. Mix well and check the seasoning.

5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the broth. Peel the carrot and cut it into thin rounds.

6. P ull back four or five thicknesses of the cabbage leaves and remove the heart. Place two lengths of kitchen string in a cross on the work surface. Place the cabbage on it. Replace the heart with two-thirds of the stuffing. 

7. Cover with the first layer of leaves, then cover with a little stuffing at the base of each leaf and fold the leaves back into place. Do the same with each layer, working outward from the center. Tie the cabbage up with the string.

8. Cover a 10-inch round enameled cast iron pot with the slices of pork belly. Sprinkle with thyme and rounds of carrots and place the cabbage on top. Pour the hot broth into the pot until it comes three-quarters of the way up and bring it to a boil. 

9. Melt the butter and sprinkle the cabbage with it. Cover the pot and cook it in the oven for 45 minutes. Baste the cabbage with a little of the cooking juices once or twice during the cooking time.

10. When the cabbage is tender, remove it from the pot and undo the strings. Reduce the cooking juices by half, incorporate the tomato sauce and coat the cabbage with this sauce.