Ideal for leftover bolognese or chilli con carne, this is a simple but tasty dish.
You will need:
- Leftover bolognese or chilli con carne
- Rice
- A whole cabbage (outer leaves only, enough leaves for approx. 2 per person)
- Grated cheese
- Soured cream / Greek yogurt / crème fraise
This recipe for works equally well with spaghetti bolognese sauce or with chilli con carne, so much like everything I make, experiment with the fillings depending on what you have leftover. The cabbage leaves act as a replacement for tortilla wraps – perhaps they will make a useful gluten free or paleo alternative, or maybe you just want to sneak greens into dinner.
Cook the rice according to the packet’s instructions. Meanwhile gently heat through the leftover sauce and grate some cheese into a serving bowl.
It works a lot better if you use the large outer leaves of the cabbage, so you get a decent sized wrap and something to get hold of. In a ‘v’ shape cut out the tougher bit of stem at the bottom of each leaf and compost it. In a slightly salted boiling pan steam the cabbage leaves until they are just cooked, don’t let them get too soggy.
This works really well as a sharing dinner, where everyone can make their own wraps. Lay a cabbage leaf out flat on the plate and in a line up the middle add the Bolognese sauce, sour cream, rice and grated cheese, not spreading all the way to the bottom so you can fold it over to contain the filling. The trick is not to overfill each wrap as otherwise it’s very difficult to fold them over and pick them up. You can either eat these elegantly with a knife and fork, or like us, get in a right old mess.
