These little rolls hold together well and make great cold snacks and picnic food. They have a lovely texture - a smooth bean filling contrasting with the crunchy, chewy cabbage. They keep well in the fridge too and apart from the fiddly work with the cabbage leaves they are quick to prepare. I had a bundle of leaves already prepared from doing cabbage stuffed with walnuts, so it didn't take me long at all, but even if you have to start from a fresh cabbage, the result will be worth it (and you could use the left over leaves for another recipe).
I've listed a whole bunch of different fresh herbs in the ingredients below. I usually have a good variety at home and when I did this recipe I had the full Monty. You can use fewer types, or different types - it's up to you. The dill is always a good addition as its carminative effects help to offset the effects of the cabbage and beans, though even with a load of dill in your mix, you still wouldn't want to be trapped in an elevator with anyone who'd eaten a pile if these.
A note on separating and steaming cabbage leaves: I usually do it by carefully peeling off the raw leaves and then steaming them in a large pot (with a couple of inches of water on the bottom and a tight lid) for about ten minutes. It's usually easier to cut along the sides of the mid-rib and remove the leaves in halves (snap off and discard the mid-rib before setting about the next leaf). My friend tells me that she cooks the cabbage first and then removes the leaves and that's easier, but I haven't tried doing it that way, yet. I like the leaves to be still quite firm and crisp after steaming and I wonder if steaming the whole cabbage would not lead to the outside leaves being a little overcooked before the inner ones are ready? I won't know till I've tried, though.
Whatever way you do your cabbage, a good idea is to pile the steamed leaves on a flat board of some kind and put another board or plate on top and a few heavy objects on top of that. Leave them for a while to squeeze out any excess liquid.
Ingredients
1 can of beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 cups of cooked rice
A pile of steamed cabbage leaves
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of wine vinegar
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
A large bunch of assorted fresh herbs (dill, basil, parsley, celery, coriander)
Salt
Mash the beans and rice first, then finely chop or pound the herbs and garlic and stir them into the mix. Stir in the oil and vinegar and salt to taste.
Lay a cabbage leaf on a board and spread about a tablespoon of filling on it, then roll it up. Repeat until you have a nice plate of cabbage rolls. You can serve them immediately or keep them in the fridge for up to a couple of days. You can also serve them whole or cut into 2 or 3 centimetre slices (looks pretty that way).