Help me use up cabbage and spinach for tonight

puddy

bag of spinach, whole savoy cabbage


we have no potatoes and he wont eat eggs or pasta or creamy sauces

i have either beef mince or chicken thighs to use with it, various spices, herbs, sauces, chopped toms etc

i have rice, couscous and bulgur wheat in

i dont like serving vegetables on the side, i like them in things so im wondering if there is anything i can do which mixes it all together?

Allegra

I wouldn't really mix cabbage and spinach in the same dish - I'd use the spinach first, as cabbage will last longer. Chicken saag curry tonight, with rice, and tomorrow either a minced beef and cabbage casserole, or stir-fried cabbage and mince mixed with bulgur wheat, tabouleh-salad style.

foxgloves

I'd also make a saag-style curry using the spinach. The bigger savoy cabbage leaves can be stuffed. Just make some spicy mince, then blanch as many of the outer cabbage leaves as you want parcels, spoon on some of the mince, fold them into little parcels & arrange in a shallow oven-proof dish. Then make a tomato sauce which can be a chilli one if you prefer & pour over the parcels. Then cook in the oven. We like savoy cabbage as a side-veg shredded very finely with a really sharp knife, then stir-fried in a wok with a couple of cloves of garlic & a pinch of chilli flakes. It makes a change from having it steamed or boiled.

puddy

how do you get the cabbage leaves to stay folded over?

Nickitree30

Toothpicks?

Allegra

puddy wrote: »

how do you get the cabbage leaves to stay folded over?

Once blanched, they are much more pliable, and if you tuck the ends in as you roll them up, they should stay folded all on their ownsome. (Great idea re cabbage parcels btw, foxgloves !) If you have any trouble getting them to stay put though, then you can do as Nicki suggests and use toothpicks

puddy

thanks everyone, its chicken saag tonight then, stuffed cabbage leaves tomorrow, and then i realised that i also have chestnut mushrooms to use so will be doing chicken chasseur on thursday with white wine (need to check OH hasnt drunk it actually)

yummy

foxgloves

Yes, once they are blanched they are very pliable & you can even snip some of the big stalk away if it doesn't look bendy enough. Make sure the joins are underneath & they will stand up to being cooked in a sauce & shouldn't unravel. I used to make a veggie version too, with a filling made from spicy rice. It's one of those recipes which not only uses the outside leaves of the cabbage which a lot of people throw away, but can be adapted to what you've got in. I like recipes like that.