Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with Maltese Cheese (Kabocci Mimlijin bil-gbejniet)
 
Cook time
Total time
 
Delicate cabbage rolls stuffed with Maltese cheese and sultanas. The Maltese cheese can be replaced with ricotta and the sultanas are optional. I made half with sultanas and half without. I added fennel seeds into the cheese mixture without sultanas.
Author:
Cuisine: Maltese
Ingredients
  • 2 - 3 large white cabbages
  • 800 grams Maltese cheeselets (about 8) or ricotta if you can't get the cheeselets
  • 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons sultanas
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
  • Half an lemon finely grated
  • 500 ml passata
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • Small bunch of flat leaf parsley finely chopped
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper
Instructions
  1. Remove the core of the cabbages and gently pry the leaves to separate.
  2. In a large pot of salted boiling water add the cabbage leaves and boil for 5 minutes.
  3. Remove from the heat and leave the leaves in the water for a further 15 minutes.
  4. Drain and set aside.
  5. Prepare your cheese mixture by mixing the cheeselets with the grated cheese, eggs and some seasoning.
  6. Divide the cheese mixture into two. In one mixture add the fennel seeds and the other mixture add the sultanas and lemon zest.
  7. Add some oil into two large dishes (if using two mixtures, if only using one mixture then only one dish is required).
  8. Take one cabbage leaf at a time and add a tablespoon of mixture at the end of the leaf. Firstly fold the sides of the cabbage leaf into the centre and then roll the leaf around the cheese mixture.
  9. Place into the dish
  10. Continue to do this until all of the mixture has been used up (make sure to separate the two different cabbage rolls with different fillings into two dishes). Place each cabbage roll tightly next to each other until the dish has been filled. It is fine to add the cabbage rolls on top of each other.
  11. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and seasoning.
  12. Simmer gently for 35 - 45 minutes until the bottom of the cabbage rolls are slightly golden. The egg and cheese melds into the cabbage rolls.
  13. While the rolls are simmering prepare your tomato sauce.
  14. In a small pan or pot fry the onions in olive oil for 10 minutes.
  15. Add the passata and gently simmer for about 15 minutes.
  16. Add the parsley to the sauce once the passata has finished simmering.
  17. Once the rolls have finished cooking serve with the tomato sauce.
Recipe by A Maltese Mouthful at https://www.amaltesemouthful.com/stuffed-cabbage-rolls/