Cabbage and Mince
This is a perfect dish for a cold winter day and it’s very easy to make.
About this Recipe
‘Kapuska’ means cabbage in Slavic languages but it’s taken its place in Turkish culinary as a dish. Cabbage and mince is a hearty, delicious, one-pot dish. It’s perfect for a cold winter day and very easy to make.
SERVES 4-5
PREP TIME: 15 MINS
COOK TIME: 50 MINS
Most people are used to seeing cabbage as ‘best supporting actress’ next to a main meat dish. Let’s face it, even though it’s an extremely nutritious vegetable, it’s not everyone’s favourite either. Plus it gives a terrible odour as it cooks, but this cabbage stew recipe is a game-changer. It would turn even the cabbage haters into cabbage lovers. Because instead of being served boiled, it’s combined with mince and cooked with must-have Turkish staples like tomato and hot pepper paste which give a lot of depth and flavour to this meal.
I hope you like this cabbage and mince recipe as much as I do. Let me know if you make it.
Ingredients
- 1 medium-size Savoy cabbage
- 5 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 350 g lamb mince
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated tomato purée – see note)
- 1 tbsp hot pepper paste (see note)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (see note)
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 50 g baldo rice, thoroughly washed & its starch removed
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 400 ml water
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
First, quarter the cabbage, then cut out the core and discard. Coarsely slice it across to create strips. Wash in a colander under cold water and set aside.
Step 2
Over medium temperature, heat the rapeseed oil in a casserole dish or a heavy-based large pan. Fry the lamb mince until it’s completely brown and thoroughly cooked.
Step 3
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and sauté them until they are a soft and golden colour.
Step 4
Combine our flavour boosting ingredients tomato paste and red pepper paste with the mince mixture. Cook until they turn deep maroon colour and become concentrated. By doing this, we get rid of the tart flavour of the tomato paste.
Step 5
Sprinkle some red pepper flakes, then add the chopped tomatoes. Sauté for a few minutes, until the tomatoes start to break down.
Step 6
Add the coarsely chopped cabbage and water into the casserole dish. When it starts to boil, add the rice and season to taste. Cover with a lid and turn down the heat. Stirring occasionally, cook for 35 minutes until the cabbage is soft.
Step 7
Serve with crusty bread.
Notes
Hot pepper paste: It is available online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. Hot pepper paste is a thick deep red paste made by blending together cooked red peppers, chillies, olive oil and salt. Then to desiccate all the juices, they are dried in the sun. This deepens the colour and intensifies the flavour. A small amount is enough to give a spicy, rich texture to dishes. It is used mainly in the southeast of Turkey. There is no substitute but you can omit it.
Tomato paste: It is available online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. Tomato paste is basically cooked down and concentrated tomatoes. It is used mainly in the southeast of Turkey. Having roots in Urfa and Gaziantep, admittedly I do use it quite a lot in my cooking. You can substitute with double concentrated tomato purée which is widely available in supermarkets.
Red pepper flakes: These flakes have a moderate heat. You can find them in Turkish or Middle Eastern shops. Ground cayenne powder can be used as a substitute. Use half as much ground cayenne to achieve the same level of heat. You can find more information about this here.
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