Never heard of it, but re cabbage, how old and tough is it? A nice, young, tight, pliable cabbage only needs blaching for stuffed cabbage. A gnarly big tough cabbage doesn't roll up very well, and could use some upsidedown simmering (people swear by freezing instead, but when I tried that, I forgot to use it). Good luck!

I used google translate for the French version which says it’s kale filled with a rice, bacon, veg mix.… like a giant golumpki. :) The second version is savoy cabbage filled with potatoes. If you’re using regular cabbage, I’d cook it until tender enough to be pliable enough for packing into your mold…. just like I’d cook cabbage for golumpki. I may make a giant golumpki after seeing these!

Savoy cabbage behaves differently and tastes different to other cabbages. It needs a little more than blanching but less than thorough cooking. Scoring across the mid rib on the inside helps with the larger outer leaves, or shaving them a little with a potato peeler.

Nb besides rice and smoked bacon the French version also contains 400g of sausage meat, dried tomatoes and Parmesan making it far from a thrifty, vegetarian dish like the potato version. Chou vert frisée means Savoy cabbage as well as curly kale and that's what's meant in this recipe.

The first version looks a but rich and greasy. The second one just too potatoey. DOn't get me wrong - I've never met a potato I didn't like but there are limits!

I rather like the look of this version.

https://www.femmeactuelle.fr/cuisine/recettes/plat/charlotte-de-chou-farci-11945

Try and let us know!!!

Because the cabbage thingy isn't really braised, which cabbage needs, then I agree that the leaves need a lot of cooking first. It's a savoy cabbage.

Have to accept too many cookies to see that Islay. Or pay. Can you copy and paste?

Thank you Islay!

I made a C de C but did a very simple one - just mashed potatoes and cabbage - to see what the process is like before going on to more ingredients.

Hmm. The cabbage needs a whole lot more cooking than I expected. 30 min boiling and 30 min baking and the cabbage wrapper still had some resistance, like you can’t cleanly cut it with a fork. I used green cabbage and it is kind of boring looking. I’ll try this again with more types of cabbage - red, Napa, maybe combining colors.

The filling was, of course, bland since I started with just plain mashed potatoes. Next C de C will have more interesting stuff.

I am also wondering if I can use the boiled-cabbage-wrapped-around-stuff idea to make a patty, which can be grilled and subbed into a vege/vegan hamburger.

Red cabbage would take even longer to cook. Napa would be quicker. But the recipe stipulates Savoy and that would be tender quite quickly.

If I was going to make a dish with just cabbage and potato dish I'd make bubble and squeak, not faff with the wrapping. For that to be worth my while I'd want a lot more flavour in the filling.

Cut with a fork! That's asking a lot of a cabbage! They're really rather fibrous. I'd think that by the time it got there it would be slimy. Savoy and Napa are thinner, but I think that's less water not less fiber. They should cut with a table knife, but a serrated Italian one might give a cleaner cut than an American knife meant more for cutting butter, which can give a ragged cut on cabbage.

As to the wrapped patty, that's exactly what middle European stuffed cabbage is, but flat rather than tubular. So, it depends on what you enclose. The reasons for making cabbage rolls, or cabbage lined potato cakes, include keeping the portions together without a ton of ”glue”, and keeping in the fat and other melty stuff, lending their moisture to the filling as well as retaining whatever is already in there, and most importantly, making them easier to get out of the pot in the days when sticking was normal. Anyway, teeth cut cabbage just fine. The main issue for the patty is that it has to hold together enough when bitten to not dribble all over and be unpleasant. Potato mash, especially with egg or other protein ”glue” works pretty well. The big concern is protein, but that’s nutrition, not cooking per se.

Thanks! I plan to go bigger on flavor in the next round, now that I am starting to understand the concept. Bring on the sausage and other tasties!

Napa cabbage does cook up quicker and more tender than green cabbage. I’ve used Napa to make golumpki and it works great.

Report: red cabbage was a big fat fail. Maybe it was just the big head I got but the pieces were rather thicker than the green cabbage leaves, and when boiled long enough to be soft and foldable, they crumbled apart too easily. Boo.

Also the color of the cooked red cabbage, while distinct, was a little offputting. Not a vibrant, glowy red, but more of a slimy, gluely purple-brown . . . think some sea plant or creature washed up on the beach.

Am trying again with Napa and Savoy cabbage.

Of course, by the time I figure this dish out, I won’t be able to stand the sight of it. Sigh. I don’t have the industry to grind away at a dish, making it over and over. If it’s not semi-okay by the third try, I’ve usually lost interest. Dilettante.

I only use Napa cabbage when making cabbage rolls, or golumpki, although I do not usually call them that - I just call them Hungarian cabbage rolls.

I made Pommes Duchesse a couple of days ago and did not like it because it was too bland. When I reheated it, I added some ghost pepper potato chips on top, and that improved it a lot. I made it because I had seen it on ATK and thought it looked pretty, and I wanted to use my potato ricer.

What did you serve the Duchesse potatoes with?

Flora 1Chou vert

• 500g Chair à saucisse
• 150g Riz rond(ou mélange de riz)
• 3échalotes
• 1Oeuf
• 60g Comté râpé
• 50g Beurre
• 1cuil. à soupe Huile
• 1Bouquet de persil
• Sel
• Remove the leaves from the cabbage. Cook them in a pan of boiling salted water for 20 minutes. Drain.
• Cook the rice in a pan of boiling salted water, following the instructions on the packet. Drain and add 30 g of melted butter.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 6).
• Peel and chop the shallots. In a frying pan, melt them in the oil with the sausage meat. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
• Line the base and sides of a buttered charlotte mould with 6 large cabbage leaves.
• Set aside 12 whole leaves and chop the rest. Mix the chopped cabbage with the sausage meat. Add the rice, egg, chopped parsley and Comté cheese. Alternate layers of stuffing and cabbage leaves in the tin, ending with whole leaves. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for 30 mins.
• Turn out and serve hot.

Merci beaucoup!. That's a lot of sausage. And eggs. Tasty but not exactly healthy.😉

Good question on the Duchesse potato, Islay. They're basically just fancy mash intended as a foil or side for something more tasty. Intentionally a bit bland.