Lihle Mahambehlala's KOO Spicy Pilchard Cabbage Rolls Recipe

KOO recently launched a new range of Pilchards; Pilchards in Tomato Sauce and Pilchards in Hot Chilli Sauce, and our students had the honour of developing a few delicious recipes for you to try at home.
— Jackie Cameron

Lihle Mahambehlala’s Spicy Pilchard Cabbage Rolls

Yield : 5-6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup long grain rice

  • 3 cups water

  • 1 can of KOO Pilchards in Chili Sauce

  • 1 medium onion

  • 1 can of canned tomatoes

  • 1 sprig of rosemary

  • Handful of basil

  • Salt and pepper

  • 1 head cabbage

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 200 C

  2. Cook rice as per packaging instructions

  3. Mix cooked rice and pilchard fish (don’t include the sauce it comes in)

  4. Season the filling well

  5. Take head of cabbage and put it in a pot with hot water

  6. As it cooks peel each leaf and set aside

For Assembling

  1. Put 2 tablespoons of filling for each leaf and roll and fold sides and tightly tuck in.

  2. Continue doing for the rest of the leaves until filling is done

  3. In a pan add chopped onions and cook until gold brown

  4. Add the one can of tomatoes and cook it off, add the chopped sprig of rosemary and basil

  5. Season with salt and pepper and add one tablespoon of sugar

  6. Assemble the rolls in a casserole dish and pour the sauce over with some of the reserved sauce from the can.

  7. Braise this in the oven for 15-20 minutes until there is some slight char on the rolls