Recipes, Mutton Recipes

Minced Mutton Recipe: Stuffed Cabbage with Onion Gravy & Swede Mash

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This gloriously flavoursome minced mutton recipe is one I love to cook. The spiced mince is wrapped in cabbage leaves and simmered gently in a swamp of sweet, soft onions and stock — rich, comforting, and properly delicious.

It’s the kind of dish I feel may have drifted out of fashion in the UK. While the French still cook chou farcie and the Poles serve gołąbki with pride, we spent a few years forgetting about stuffed cabbage altogether. But a scroll through Instagram or a look at some of London’s best restaurant menus suggests it’s making a triumphant return — and rightly so.

These stuffed cabbage parcels are deeply satisfying. The kind of thing I want to eat on a chilly evening with a glass of red and something buttery and rooty on the side.

— George Ryle

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

Filling

For the Onion Gravy

For the Crushed Swede

Method

To Stuff the Cabbage Leaves

  1. Start by preparing the stuffing. In a pan over low heat, melt the duck fat and add the diced shallots and thyme leaves. Season with a little salt and cook gently until the shallots are soft and translucent — avoid any colour.
  2. Pour in the whiskey and let it simmer for around 2 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the minced mutton with the cooled shallot mixture, rolled oats, ground cloves, a light grating of nutmeg, and a few cracks of black pepper. Season with salt, then use your hands to mix everything thoroughly.
  4. To check the seasoning, fry off a small piece of the mixture in a pan and taste. Adjust the salt and pepper if needed before proceeding.

In the Meantime, Begin the Gravy

  1. Add the duck fat, sliced onions, bay leaves, and a pinch of salt to a large pan. Cook over a medium heat with the lid on, stirring regularly, for around 25 minutes — the onions should be soft and sweet, but still pale in colour.
  2. While the onions are cooking, warm the chicken stock in a separate pan.
  3. Once the onions are ready, stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously to avoid catching.
  4. Add a ladleful of the hot stock to the onions and stir — the mixture should begin to thicken quite quickly. Gradually add the remaining stock, continuing to stir, and bring everything to a gentle simmer.
  5. Cook for 20 minutes, then check and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Returning to the Cabbage

  1. Carefully peel away the outer leaves of the cabbage — you’ll need about 10 intact and undamaged ones. Take care not to tear them, as whole leaves are much easier to stuff and roll.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and prepare a bowl of iced water.
  3. Blanch the cabbage leaves in batches for 2 minutes, then immediately transfer them to the iced water. This stops the cooking process and helps retain their structure and colour — essential for neat, well-shaped parcels.
  4. Once all the leaves have been blanched, drain thoroughly.
  5. Lay a leaf flat on a clean work surface. If the stalk at the base of the leaf is especially thick or fibrous, trim it with a sharp knife, cutting as close as possible without slicing through the leaf.
  6. Gently roll over the leaf with a rolling pin to flatten and soften it. Take a golf ball-sized amount of the mutton mixture, shape it into a small cylinder, and place it near the base of the leaf. Roll upwards, tucking in the sides as you go, to create a neat parcel. Secure the roll with a toothpick.
  7. Repeat the process until all the mince is used.
  8. Preheat the oven to 170°C.
  9. Pour the prepared onion gravy into an ovenproof dish. Nestle the stuffed cabbage parcels into the gravy, leaving a little space between each one. Transfer the dish to the oven and cook for 18–20 minutes, until piping hot and lightly golden on top.

To Cook the Swede and Serve

  1. Add the diced swede, butter, chicken stock, a generous pinch of salt, and several twists of black pepper to a saucepan set over medium heat.
  2. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover with a lid and cook for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the pan looks dry at any point, top up with a splash more stock or water to keep things moving.
  3. After 30 minutes, the swede should be tender. Using the back of a fork, a potato masher, the end of a rolling pin — whatever’s to hand — gently crush the swede until broken down but still rustic in texture.
  4. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed — swede responds particularly well to black pepper.
  5. To serve, spoon a generous amount of crushed swede onto each plate. Place a couple of the stuffed cabbage parcels on top and ladle over plenty of the sweet onion gravy. Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks before serving.

Shop the ingredients

For 15 years George worked in some of London’s most loved restaurants, including Padella and Primeur, and had a 5-year stint as Head Chef at the Garden Museum Café. George earned rave reviews for his simple, thoughtful cookery, his dishes were firmly rooted in the classics, and always paid homage to the produce. In 2021 George realised a long-held ambition and released his first cookbook entitled, A Year In The Kitchen. It celebrates the annual cookery cycle, taking readers on a journey through the British seasons, showcasing native produce, and inspiring year round creativity. In 2022 George left London behind, and moved back home to Yorkshire. His passion for seasonal cookery and reverence of quality British ingredients proved that for George, home is where the heart is. Like his food, George is led by the seasons, he’s open to new opportunities, and always following his heart.