Cold Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

Cooked cabbage leaves stuffed with a savory rice filling. Serve chilled as a starter or as a light lunch.
Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 20min
Cooking Time: 1hr 30min
Ingredients
4 large cabbage leaves
medium onion finely chopped
4oz / 110g long grain white rice
2oz / 50g pine nuts
2oz / 50g currants washed
1 lemon
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs tomato paste
salt and pepper
Herbs & Spices
1 tbsp Parsley Flat Leaf
1/2 tsp Allspice Ground
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Ground
1/2 tsp Pepper Black Ground
Cooking Instructions
Take cabbage leaves, remove central vein and divide into two pieces. Plunge into boiling water for a minute, remove, drain well and flatten out.
Fry onion in oil until light golden colour. Add rice and stir-fry for 2 mins. Add 8 fl oz / 225ml boiling water(beware of spitting from the pan) then add the currants, pine nuts, parsley, allspice, cinnamon black pepper and a generous pinch of salt. Cover pan and simmer until water is absorbed and the rice almost cooked. Stir in tomato paste and cook uncovered until rice is nearly dry.
Lay out cabbage leaves and place about 1 tbs of stuffing in the middle of each leaf. Fold up each leaf into a tight parcel and place in bottom of saucepan so that they are a tight fit and are held together. Put upturned plate on top to hold them down and cover with water. Add lemon juice, 1tsp salt and simmer for 45 mins. Let cool, drain well, chill, garnish with a few leaves of fresh basil and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.