A forced cabbage is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic dish of white cabbage that's parboiled, cored, stuffed with a herbed and spiced forcemeat of the cabbage core, veal, bacon and eggs and which is cooked in beef stock and red wine on a base of bacon and sliced beef. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: A forced cabbage.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.
A forced cabbage
TAKE a fine white-hearted cabbage, about as big as a quarter of a peck, lay it in water two or three hours, then half boil it, ſet it in a cullander to drain, then very carefully cut out the heart, but take great care not to break off any of the outſide leaves, fill it with force-meat made thus : take a pound of veal, half a pound of bacon, fat and lean together, cut them ſmall, and beat them fine in a mortar, with four eggs boiled hard. Seaſon with pepper and ſalt, a little beaten mace, a very little lemon-peel cut fine, ſome parſley chopped fine, a very little thyme, and two anchovies : when they are beat fine, take the crumb of the ſtale roll, ſome muſhrooms, if you have them either pickled or freſh, and the heart of the cabbage you cut our chopped fine. Mix all together with the yolk of an egg, then fill the hollow part of the cabbage, and tie it with packthread ; then lay ſome ſlices of bacon to the bottom of a ſtew-pan, or ſauce pan, and on that a pound of coarſe lean beef, cut thin ; put in the cabbage, cover it cloſe, and let it ſtew over a low fire, till the bacon begins to ſtick to the pan, ſhake in a little flour, then pour in a quart of broth, an onion ſtuck with cloves, two blades of mace, ſome whole pepper, a little bundle of ſweet herbs; cover it cloſe, and let it ſtew very ſoftly an hour and a half, put in a glaſs of red wine, give it a boil, then take it up, lay it in the diſh, and ſtrain the gravy and pour over : untie it firſt. This is a fine ſide-diſh, and the next day makes a fine haſh, with a veal-ſteak nicely broiled and laid on it.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 large white cabbage
500g veal, minced
225g streaky bacon, minced
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
ground mace, to taste
2 tsp finely-grated lemon zest
4 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp dried thyme, crumbled
2 anchovies, finely chopped
60g stale breadcrumbs
12 button mushrooms, finely chopped
1 egg yolk
6 slices of bacon
500g stewing beef, cut into thin strips
2 tbsp plain flour
1l beef stock
1 onion, stuck with 6 cloves
2 blades of mace
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 bunch of sweet herbs, tied together
200ml red wine
Method:
Bring a large pan of lightly-salted water to a boil. Add the cabbage and par-boil for 15 minutes. Drain in a colander and when cooled carefully remove the core (make certain that the outer leaves remain intact. Now take out the heart of the cabbage and chop this very finely.
In a bowl, combine the cabbage heart wit the veal, bacon, eggs, anchovies, breadcrumbs and mushrooms, Season with the salt, back pepper, mace, lemon zest, parsley and thyme, Mix thoroughly then add the egg yolk and stir to bind. Use this mixture to stuff the cabbage then tie securely in a cloth so that the stuffing cannot come out.
Lay the bacon slices in the base of a stewing pan and set the beef strips on top. Lay the stuffed cabbage on top then cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the bacon begins to stick to the base of the pan.
Scatter over the flour then stir in the stock, add the onion, mace, black peppercorns and herbs. Bring to a simmer, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook gently for 90 minutes. At this point add the red wine and bring to a boil.
Remove the cabbage from the liquid then remove the cloth covering it and set in a dish. Strain the sauce and pour over the gravy. Serve immediately.
The left-over cabbage can be hashed in any remaining sauce and should be served the following day to accompany a grilled veal steak.
