Savoy Cabbage Recipes: How To Make Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage (Chou Farçi)

Felicity Vincent
Feb 7, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Aug 1, 2024

Highlight the beauty of this winter veg with a vegetarian centrepiece full of satisfying flavour.

There are many lovely savoy cabbage recipes out there, but for me the ultimate way to enjoy it in it's entirety is by using the outer leaves as pockets for a delicious and satisfying savoury stuffing made of veggie mince, mushrooms, rice and of course...more savoy cabbage.

Ingredients: (serves 5)

Stuffed Cabbage:

250g button mushrooms
1 large white onion
1 Tbs vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic
300g savoy cabbage, shredded core
30g parsley, chopped
350g veggie mince
80g country bread (or sourdough bread)
200mL milk of choice
2 tsp dijon mustard
S&P
100g brown rice
16 outer cabbage leaves

Matignon braising:

1 white onion
3 carrots
450g celeriac
2 veggie stock cubes
2L water

Method: (see photos and videos below)

Start by making the stuffing

Tear up the bread into small chunks and add to a bowl with the milk. Stir to coat all the bread and leave to soak.
Take of the outer leaves of the savoy cabbage, these are darker and larger. Save them for later, you should have about 12-16.
Cut the core of the cabbage in half then quarters, then thinly slice each quarter (you can make this shredded cabbage using a food processor also, if you have one). Put a bit of oil in a pan and sweat off the cabbage on a low heat for 15 minutes until it starts to brown, then set aside in a bowl to cool down.
In the meantime, clean the mushrooms and roughly chop them as small as you can (or use a food processor). Peel and chop the onion, then sweat it off in the pan with a bit of oil on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sweat off for a further 10 minutes, the mix should loose all its moisture and turn into a paste. Add the crushed garlic and cook off for another minute before taking it off the heat and adding to the bowl of cooked cabbage to cool down.
Once the cabbage and mushroom mix has cooled down, add in the other ingredients and stir to combine (except the rice): veggie mince, chopped parsley, mustard, salt, pepper and the bread & milk mixture (this will make the stuffing more tender).
Cook a bit of the stuffing in a pan and taste it to see if it needs any more seasoning. Once you're happy with the flavour, add the uncooked rice and mix.

Now to stuff the leaves

Fill a deep saucepan with water and a big pinch of salt then bring to the boil.
Take your dark outer leaves and trim out the thickest part of the stem.
Blanch the leaves in the salty boiling water for 5 minutes then transfer them into an ice bath to maintain their green colour.
Trim off some butcher's twine (heat resistant string), you'll need about 3-4 15cm-long pieces per stuffed leaf.
Lay the leaf flat on a work surface, put the prettier side down as that will then show on the outside. Once you get to the smaller leaves you'll need to use 2, lay them out overlaying them by about a third.
Take 3 Tbs of stuffing and shape into a ball using the palm of your hands, then place it in the center of the leaf. Bring in each corner of the leaf to cover all the stuffing. Squeeze it with your hands slightly to maintain the shape, then tie it up with 3 pieces of string in a star shape. Tie 2 knots tightly to ensure they keep their nice shape while cooking. At the end of the day, don't stress too much over this, they'll look nice enough and we're not cooking for a Michelin starred restaurant.
The stuffing should give you enough to make about 8 stuffed leaves.

Cooking the leaves:

Preheat the oven at 200°C.
Once you have all your little parcels ready, add the stock cubes to your deep saucepan of boiling water and bring it to a simmer.
Cook the stuffed leaves in the stock for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare your Matignon braising. This is the name for braising something with diced vegetables which are then served as an accompaniment with the sauce. So dice the peeled onion, carrots and celeriac. Then, sweat them off in a deep oven dish with a bit of oil for 10 minutes.
Transfer the stuffed cabbage onto the diced vegetables and add some of the stock to cover about half of the stuffed cabbages. Cover and cook in the oven for another 30 minutes.
Remove the cover and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of each parcel then put back in the oven (uncovered) for 20 minutes to crisp up the top.
Serve them up with some of the reduced stock and diced veg. I recommend a little dollop of crème fraiche on top or a squeeze of lemon juice.
Bon appétit!

Stuffing the cabbage leaves

Full recipe method:

More about this recipe:

Savoy cabbage is a source of vitamins K, A, Folate and C, and a source of fibre. It therefore supports your gut and helps your body produce red blood cells, supports bone, cell and eye health and helps heal wounds.

But on top of all these benefits, savoy cabbage is also great to promote a happy mood:

Good source of folate - not having enough folate increases the chance of feeling depressed.

Vitamin C - is involved in converting dopamine to noradrenaline - low amounts of noradrenaline are associated with depression.

Full of antioxidants and phenolic compounds - which reduce oxidative stress and support brain health.

Finally, The smell that a lot of people hate in cabbage is due to sulfur based compounds called glucosinolates, these have actually been shown to have protective effects against certain types of cancers.

So as they are in season during winter, it's a great time to look for good savoy cabbage recipes.

This is a traditional countryside french dish, but I've replaced the pork mince with mushrooms and veggie mince for a more sustainable option.

I love this dish because it's so satisfyingly moorish and warm it makes the perfect comfort food however it's such a healthy complete meal full of protein, fibre, wholegrain carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals yet low in saturated fats and sugars.

A lot of countries have a version of stuffed cabbage leaves, and even across France different regions alter the recipe such as whether to incorporate rice, but I think it adds a great texture, especially in a veggie version. So feel free to make swaps and get creative with it.

Leave me a comment if you have any questions.