Walnut stuffed cabbage leaves

I got this from a Georgian recipe which had been translated into Russian in a magazine. The original suggested mixing pomegranate grains with the stuffing but I didn't have a pomegranate so I left them out. You could try putting them back in. As it's best to take the ribs out of the cabbage leaves, and me being a Scotsman who hates to throw anything away, I decided to chop up the ribs and pad out the stuffing with them. My friend Tanya (who guinea-pigged the recipe and said it was quite good) pointed out that the ribs contain a higher concentration of pesticide residues than the rest of the leaf and it might, in fact, be best to throw them away. This is the first time I've heard that, but I'd like to find out more about it.

The original recipe also required a teaspoon of otskho suneli. I don't know what that is, but I had a packet of khmeli suneli in the cupboard and I used that. It worked out fine. It's a mixture of dried herbs and spices containing coriander, basil, celery, savoury, red chilli, something which appears to translate as 'velvet flowers' -don't know what that is - and another mystery herb which I couldn't translate. If you've got a couple of these in the cupboard you'll be okay.

Here's the recipe, ribs and all. You decide whether or not to use them.

Ingredients

About ten large white cabbage leaves
A mug of shelled walnuts
4 cloves of garlic
A small bunch of green coriander
A small bunch of dill
1 teaspoon of ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon of khmeli suneli (or something close)
A pinch of ground cloves
A pinch of ground cinnamon
2 dessertspoons of apple or grape vinegar
Salt

Put the leaves loosely one inside the other and jam them into a large pot with a little water on the bottom. Put the lid on tightly and steam the leaves just enough to start softening them. Drain them and leave them to cool while you make the stuffing.

Pound the walnuts until they form an oily paste. It might be best to do it in two lots unless you've got a really big pestle and mortar. Put the paste in a bowl and pound the chopped fresh herbs and garlic along with the dried spices. Add them to the bowl with the walnut paste and mix everything together along with the vinegar. If you use salt, remember the cabbage leaves aren't salted so you can add a fair bit to the mixture.

Cut the ribs out of the cabbage leaves. That will give you two halves. If you end up with fifteen or sixteen good ones that will be fine. Chop the ribs finely and mix them into the stuffing. Spread a couple of teaspoons on each piece of leaf and roll it up like a cigar. Tuck in any ragged edges as you go. Lay the stuffed leaves side by side on a plate and let the mixture impregnate the leaves for a while before serving. Like most spicy things, they will taste even better after a day or two in the fridge.

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