Stuffed savoy cabbage cake is a lovely filling and hearty meal for the severe cold months. Made with carrots, apple, eggs, mountain cheese and more cabbage it will satisfy your hunger and put a smile on your face. It’s an incredibly delicious and rustic vegetarian meal.
Cold months are my favourite time to bake. Oh, so wonderful when the whole home smells delicious. However, baking can involve savoury baking, too. Right? And this stuffed savoy cabbage cake recipe is all about a tasty savoury oven dish, easier to make than you might think.
Savoy cabbage comes from the cabbage family. Its leaves are green to bluish coloured and with a curly look. It can be truly tasty if prepared right. Well, in short, simply don’t overcook it. Now you’ll say “Cabbage…blaahhh. It stinks.” Nope. Savoy cabbage is an ideal choice for those who avoid cabbage because of the strong sulfur odour.
More, savoy cabbage also known as curly cabbage comes with plenty of benefits. For instance, it is rich in protein, fiber, iron, calcium and magnesium. It is free of fats and cholesterol and an excellent source of vitamin A, B, C and K. Also, it is extremely versatile. In fact, you can add it to soups or stews, make a roulade, lasagne or a wrap or simply roast it. Find your way how to include it in your diet.
Cabbage combines very well with onions, apples, cumin, meat, eggs, cheese and fish. You’ll find half of those in this cake as filling. Wink. Apples, onion and carrots bring that light sweetness and a slight crunch to the cake. And, because cabbage can cause bloating, simply add some cumin seed to the dish. Problem solved. Wink.
For more cabbage recipes, jump to these links: roasted lemon-garlic cabbage, soy mushrooms Napa cabbage or whole Harissa roasted cauliflower (yes, cauliflower belongs to the cabbage family).
Mountain cheese – greater variety, more flavour
In addition, I can’t skip the cheese. I love cheese. But this mountain cheese or “Bergkäse” in German is just special. More, it is made from hay milk. In other words, cows enjoy a variety of succulent grasses and herbs in the alpine meadows and pastures. That’s what creates the quality and flavour of hay milk. And, let me tell you, you can taste and smell it. From the fridge all the way to your living room. Wink. This cheese gives a lovely touch or kick to this savoury cabbage cake.
Mountain cheese has an outstanding flavour, which to some can be really overpowering. It’s buttery, grassy, mellow and pungent. For me, it’s simply irresistible. Mountain cheese also stands out because it contains beneficial properties for health, such as omega-3 fatty acids.
The stuffed savoy cabbage cake can be prepared a day ahead and stored in the fridge for up to two days. When ready to eat, simply pop it in the oven covered with aluminium foil for 20 minutes or until warm throughout. By the way, it makes a great mid-week lunch, as well.
Ingredients for a stuffed savoy cabbage cake (18 cm Ø):
- savoy cabbage (6-8 larger whole leaves and around 250-300 g cut into strips)
- 2 medium red onions
- 150 g carrots (diced)
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 1 apple (diced)
- salt
- half a teaspoon of sweet paprika
- 1 tsp of coriander powder
- 2 tsp of cumin seeds (or powder)
- 100 ml vegetable broth
- 4 eggs
- 80 g flour
- 15 g fresh parsley
- 120 g mountain cheese (grated)
- 10 g butter
To start, cut 6-8 larger leaves from the cabbage and set them aside. Then, cut a third of the remaining cabbage head and cut it into 2 cm thick strips.
Furthermore, peel and chop the onion and garlic. Wash and dice the carrots and the apple. In a larger frying pan or skillet, heat some olive oil and add the onions. Saute them until soft, then, add the garlic, carrot and apple cubes.
At this point, stir in the salt, cumin seeds, sweet paprika and coriander powder. After a couple of minutes, stir in the cabbage strips and saute briefly while stirring. Then, pour in the hot vegetable stock and cook for 10 minutes or until the liquid has almost evaporated. Remove from the stove and allow it to cool a bit.
Meanwhile, prepare the cabbage leaves. Firstly, remove the coarse veins (the hard middle part) and pile the leaves into a pot or bowl. Secondly, pour some boiling water over them and blanch them for 3-4 minutes. Thirdly, drain them and then rinse them under cold running water. Place onto a kitchen towel to dry.
Next, grease a springform with some butter and place the leaves (all but one, which you’ll use for the top), slightly overlapping each other, in it. The top half of the leaves should be overlapping the springform. Once you’ve done that, place one leaf in the middle of the form’s bottom.
Preheat the oven to 180º C and prepare the cabbage cake. In a medium bowl, crack the eggs and give them a quick whisk. Wash and finely chop the parsley and grate the cheese. Then, stir the flour into the whisked eggs until smooth. Also, add the parsley, salt and cheese to the batter. Gently fold the cabbage filling into the batter, too.
At this stage, pour the filling batter into the springform, smooth it out and place the leave you’ve kept on top. Last but not least, turn the hanging cabbage leaves over the cake, add some small butter slices on top, loosely cover with aluminium foil and put in the oven on the lower rack. Bake for 30 minutes. Afterwards, move it onto the middle rack for 20-25 minutes more.
Once the stuffed cabbage cake is done, let it rest for 5 more minutes in the form. Finally, remove the springform, transfer the stuffed cabbage cake onto a cutting board or a serving plate and slice just like a normal cake.
Enjoy.
