“Ouma Onder die Kombers” (Granny under the Covers)
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 105
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 6
- Category: Beef & Veal; easy; Main Ingredient; South African
Description
This is Grandma’s recipe for spiced mince wrapped in cabbage and covered with tomato suace
Ingredients
For the Mince Filled Cabbage Parcels
1 cabbage, core removed and broken into leaves
500 g beef mince
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
1 slice of white bread
½ C (125 ml) beef stock
1 ½ tsp (7.5 ml) coriander seeds
½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground all spice
¼ tsp (1.25 ml) ground cloves
¼ tsp (1.25 ml) ground nutmeg
1 tsp (5 ml) dried mixed herbs
1 egg, beaten
freshly ground salt and pepper
For the Sauce
1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 tins (2 x 400 g) chopped tomatoes
½ C (125 ml) beef stock
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
To Make the Mince Filled Cabbage Parcels
Preheat the oven to 160 °C.
Place a large saucepan of salted water over a medium heat and bring up to a boil. Blanch the cabbage leaves until tender.
Place a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the oil and sauté the onions until softened.
Soak the slice of bread in the beef stock.
Using a dry frying pan, toast the coriander seeds and then crush using a pestle and mortar.
Mix the mince, fried onions, soaked bread, spices and egg together until well combined. Season well.
Spoon 45 ml of mince mixture into each cabbage leaf. Fold in the sides of the leaf and roll up to enclose the mince. Use a toothpick to secure if needed. Repeat until all the mixture is used. It should yield +- 10 parcels.
Sauce
Heat the oil in an ovenproof dish/saucepan (I used AMC’s 24 cm Gourmet Roaster). Sauté the onions until fragrant and translucent. Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes and season to taste.
Remove half of the sauce and set aside. Arrange the cabbage parcels into the dish/saucepan, and top with remaining sauce. Cover with foil or an ovenproof lid and cook for 1 ½ hours.
Serve with rice and a simple salad.
