Cabbage rolls with pumpkin

Name: Cabbage rolls with pumpkin
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 9
Ingredients: Verza (savoy cabbage) (5 leaves) 10.5 oz; Mantuan pumpkin 1.5 lbs; Speck in a single slice 5.3 oz; Grana Padano PDO cheese 1 oz; Extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp; Rosemary to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste; Butter to taste

it de fr es br

Gluten Free

Difficulty: Very easy
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Makes: 9 pieces
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Involtini di cavolo alla zucca is one of those dishes that just makes you feel all warm inside. It's from the Trentino-Alto Adige region in northern Italy, where they're really, really good at celebrating the flavors of autumn. Basically, we're talking stuffed cabbage rolls here. And you know what? They're filled with this moist, tender pumpkin mixture that just melts in your mouth. Seriously good.

The savoy cabbage leaves get all soft and wrap around the pumpkin stuffed cabbage mixture perfectly. And listen, traditional versions often throw in some speck. It’s smoky, which is great, and pairs way, way better than you'd think with the sweet pumpkin. Up in the Italian Alps, you’ll find these cabbage roll recipes popping up as soon as the weather gets chilly and pumpkins are everywhere.

Some folks like to mix it up with zucchini or different cheeses for vegetarian cabbage rolls. So, you get a bunch of different flavors depending on what’s fresh and available. This dish is perfect for those cozy, fall evenings when you want something special but pretty simple. Plus, you might find a bit of paprika or nutmeg in there somewhere, adding that extra flavor punch that turns this autumn comfort food into something even more delicious.

While these easy cabbage rolls hail from northern Italy, you can find similar dishes like sarmale from the northeast, or other Italian involtini with fresh fillings, pretty much all over. Making a batch gives you a tasty starter for gatherings or makes for a healthy, interesting side dish.

Oh, and the golden, crispy edges where the cabbage bakes up? Can't go wrong. Let them brown a little. These rolls blend right in with other seasonal vegetable recipes, combining classic flavors with creative twists that are really, really satisfying. Whether they're a comforting side or a standout appetizer, involtini di cavolo alla zucca totally captures the essence of Italian autumn cooking. So next time you need something to warm you up, try this tasty dish and savor the blend of traditional and modern tastes. For real.

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for 9 rolls: Verza (savoy cabbage) 10.5 oz (300 g) - (5 leaves); Mantuan pumpkin 1.5 lbs (700 g); Speck 5.3 oz (150 g) - in a single slice; Grana Padano PDO cheese 1 oz (30 g); Extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp (10 g); Rosemary to taste; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

for greasing the baking dish: Butter to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Cabbage rolls with pumpkin

To prepare the pumpkin cabbage rolls, start with the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into slices about 3/4 inch thick 1, remove the seeds and stringy part 2, and peel the skin 3.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the pumpkin slices on it; drizzle them with a little oil, add a few sprigs of rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste 4. Bake the pumpkin in a preheated static oven at 350°F for about 25-30 minutes, until it softens. While the pumpkin is baking, take the savoy cabbage, remove the core 5, then peel it and take 5 large leaves weighing 2 oz each 6.

Remove the central part of the leaves, which is the hardest 7, and divide them in half 8. Blanch the cabbage leaves for about 1 minute in boiling salted water 9.

Then drain them with a slotted spoon and place them on a strainer 10. Trim the cabbage leaves to create a rather regular rectangle 11. Now move on to the bacon: cut it into strips and then into cubes about 1/5 inch 12.

Then drizzle a small pan with a little oil and add the bacon cubes to sauté for about 5-10 minutes 13. When the fatty part has slightly melted and the bacon has colored, turn off the heat 14. Meanwhile, take the pumpkin out of the oven, which will have softened and flavored 15.

Let it cool for a moment, then cut the pumpkin slices into pieces and put them in the mixer 16. Turn on the blades to reduce the slices to pulp 17. Then transfer the obtained pulp into a piping bag using a spatula 18.

Now you can start composing your rolls: put a little pumpkin pulp in the center of each cabbage leaf 19, then add a teaspoon of bacon cubes 20 and fold it into a packet like this: fold the longer sides of the leaves towards the center 21,

Fold the two ends inward 22 and turn the rolls over to the other side so that the side with the pumpkin is visible 23. Butter a baking dish using a kitchen brush 24,

Then start arranging the rolls in the baking dish 25. Sprinkle them with grated Grana Padano cheese 26 and bake them in grill mode at 430°F for 5-10 minutes. Then take them out of the oven 27 and enjoy the pumpkin cabbage rolls hot or warm!

Storage

Pumpkin cabbage rolls are excellent when freshly made.
They can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
They can be frozen before being baked, only if fresh, non-defrosted ingredients have been used. In this case, they can be thawed in the refrigerator and put in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes.

Advice

What's missing, do you think? Missing a spicy touch? Just a sprinkle of nutmeg or sweet paprika will do. Missing a crunchy note? Why not crumble some amaretti into the filling just before closing the rolls? Missing the classic salami flavor? Well, replace the bacon with pancetta, cooked ham, or sausage. If, instead, the recipe is more about missing cabbage in your fridge, know that you can also use lettuce leaves without any problem.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.