Cabbage lasagna
Description
The recipe won't take much time. In fact, cabbage lasagna can be made not only with minced meat, but also with mushrooms or seasonal vegetables—though in the latter case, it's better to use tomato sauce instead of white sauce. For meat-based cabbage lasagna, however, cheese, milk, and cream work perfectly, making the dish incredibly tender! Take a large cabbage head, remove the core, and separate it into leaves. Take the 15 largest leaves and blanch them in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes. Then drain and dry them, while finely shredding the remaining leaves. Peel and finely chop the vegetables (you can grate the carrots). Sauté them in a small amount of butter—first add the onion, then the garlic, followed by the carrots, and then the minced meat. Fry for several minutes, then add the shredded cabbage. Season with salt, reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and cook for about 5 minutes. Then turn off the heat, add spices, and mix well. In a frying pan or saucepan, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter and sauté the flour until golden—about one minute, stirring constantly with a spatula to prevent burning. Slowly pour in the milk, season with salt, bring to a boil, and, stirring constantly, cook for 2–3 minutes until the sauce slightly thickens. Grate the cheese. Grease a heatproof baking dish with butter. Place a layer of large cabbage leaves, overlapping slightly. On top, add a layer of the meat mixture, spread evenly, pour over some sauce, and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat this process once more. You should end up with five layers total—the top layer should be cabbage. Pour the remaining sauce over the lasagna, sprinkle with cheese, and place in a preheated oven at 180°C. Bake for 15–20 minutes, until a golden cheese crust forms. Cut the lasagna into portions directly in the dish and serve hot.