Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 (164 page)

Remove pork or bacon pieces from top of cabbage and set aside. Drain cabbage again, then turn serving dish upside down over mold and reverse the two, unmolding cabbage onto the dish. Remove vegetables and pork from top of cabbage. Pat pork or bacon strips dry on paper towels, and brown very lightly in frying pan; arrange them decoratively over the cabbage. Spoon the sauce around the cabbage, decorate with the parsley, and serve as soon as possible.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTES
: Sauce may be finished and pork or bacon sautéed well in advance of serving, then reheated. Keep cabbage warm, loosely covered, and unmold at last minute. (Omit sautéing the pork strips at bottom of mold.) However, if you leave the cabbage too long, or cool and reheat it, you risk losing its freshly cooked quality.

VARIATIONS

Feuilles de Chou Farcies

[Stuffed Cabbage Leaves for Individual Servings]

When you wish a less elaborate presentation, a little quicker cooking, have fewer people to serve, or want an attractive way to use a bit of leftover meat, you may make as many or as few servings as you wish by wrapping a stuffing in individual cabbage leaves. Usually served hot, these are also delicious cold on a bed of lettuce or watercress, and garnished with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers in a vinaigrette sauce.

For 12 stuffed cabbage leaves, serving 4 to 6

12 large blanched cabbage leaves 7 to 8 inches long (Step 2 in preceding Master Recipe)

One at a time, lay blanched cabbage leaves curved side down on cutting board and
cut a wedge about 2 inches long out of the tough bottom stem.

About 2 cups of stuffing (that in the
preceding recipe
, the one at the end of this
section
, or one from the
list
)

Place a loaf-shaped mound of stuffing on lower third of leaf just above wedge cut.

1 each: medium-sized carrot and onion sliced and lightly browned (Step 3 in preceding recipe)

A lighdy buttered 2-quart flameproof baking and serving dish 2 inches deep (such as a 9- by 12-inch oval)

Optional: the rest of the cabbage leaves, blanched and roughly chopped

Salt, pepper, and ¼ tsp ground sage, rosemary, or thyme

12 slices of lean salt pork or bacon, 4 by 1½ inches, ⅜ inch thick, and blanched (Step 3 in preceding recipe)

About 2 cups of excellent brown stock or bouillon

Aluminum foil

A bulb baster

The tomato-sauce base, Step 6 in preceding Master Recipe

Strew the sliced cooked carrots and onions in the bottom of the baking dish and spread the optional blanched and chopped cabbage over it. Season with salt, pepper, and rosemary or thyme. Lay the stuffed cabbage leaves on top, seam-side down and close together. Salt and pepper them lightly, cover each with a strip of blanched salt pork or bacon, and pour around them enough stock or bouillon almost to cover. Enclose top of dish tightly with aluminum foil.

(*)
AHEAD-OF-TIME NOTE
: May be completed in advance to this point. Refrigerate, and bake the next day if you wish.