Stuffed Cabbage Cannelloni

While I love stuffed cabbage, The Nudge will turn his nose up when I mention it. You know that look, "what, agaaaainnnn?"
I thought if I twisted it up a bit, I might get him to change his mind.

Traditional stuffed cabbage uses ground meat, rice and raisins and can be high in fat (the rice soaks up the fat from the meat).

I used a shoulder from the suckling pig I roasted on Easter and since all the fat melted away, it is as lean as the tenderloin. The only fat I used was 1 tablespoon of butter for 8 cannelloni. So far, so good.

No strange ingredients, besides the cabbage, I bet you have everything in your pantry to make this dish.
I hope you always have a box of no boil lasagna sheets and if you don't, you really should.
Normally I would roll them up starting from the short side, but this time I rolled them lengthwise to fit snug in the baking pan.

I was working on two separate recipes that both used the same aromatics, so I chopped once and split twice. I love when I can batch meals. If you don't want to use ground meat (like me), some pulled pork shoulder, smoked turkey legs, turkey kielbasa, andouille, a lean ham steak or for a vegetarian meal, no meat at all.

I had a small head of savoy cabbage but regular green coleslaw cabbage or napa is just as good.
A few carrots, an onion, a sweet n sour sauce, tomatoes and stock, done. This really was an easy recipe to make. I baked off the cannelloni with just the flavored juice from the sweet and sour tomato sauce the first time, wrapped them in foil and refrigerated. The next night I placed them in the same Corning Ware pan, added the rest of the tomato sauce, some 70% fat-free Cabot Jalapeno Cheddar, baked for 20 minutes to heat through, then under the broiler to bubble the cheese.

One cannelloni with sauce is a mere 216 calories so with a salad, it makes a very healthy meal. Yay for us!

Sweet 'n Sour Cabbage Cannelloni
makes 4 servings

* 8 Barilla No Boil Lasagna sheets

* 1 small onion, diced
* 1 carrot, minced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tablespoon butter spread
* Small head green cabbage (Napa, Savoy or Green)
* 4 ounces lean turkey or pork, chopped into small pieces (optional)
* Small can Petite Dice tomatoes
* 3 tablespoons sweet and sour sauce or/2 tablespoons Splenda brown sugar + white vinegar)
* 1 cup low salt, fat free chicken (vegetable) broth

1. Soak lasagna sheets in boiled water for 20 minutes. Meanwhile pulse the onion, carrot and garlic in a processor till a mince. Remove to a skillet and melt the butter. Add the aromatics, cover and cook while you shred the cabbage.
2. Add the cabbage to the veggie mixture and saute until softened. Add the meat (if using) and heat through.
3. Remove the mixture to a bowl and add the tomatoes with juice, the stock and the sweet and sour sauce into the same pan. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
4. Place a pasta sheet on a work surface with the longer sides north and south. Scoop 1/4 cup filling onto the south side and spread evenly from side to side. Roll forward, tucking the filling in until it is totally rolled up and place, seam side down, in a large backing pan (large enough that they lay flat and next to each other.

If serving immediately, cover with any extra filling if left over and then spoon the tomatoes and the juice over the pasta and down the sides. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the cheese on top, turn the broiler on and broil for 5 minutes or until the cheese starts to bubble.

If serving another day, cover with any extra filling and spoon the juice over the pasta, reserving the tomatoes for final baking. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Spoon the reserved tomatoes over the pasta, cover tightly and place in the fridge until ready to eat.
On serving day, remove pan from fridge, and place in a 350° oven for 15 minutes, uncover and add the cheese to the top and broil for 5 minutes until bubbly. Serve immediately.


Review: The Nudge told me they nuked well on high for 2 minutes. Lunch was served.