Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls: the tasty recipe for making traditional capunet

Italian stuffed cabbage rolls, or capunet, are an easy yet flavorful recipe. The savoy cabbage rolls are stuffed with meat and cheese so you can enjoy a traditional Piedmontese main dish.

Quick and easy to make, they were once prepared after the Christmas holidays to use up leftovers from lavish meals, such as roast, sausages or other meats. Over time, the preparation has refined, but has not lost its most authentic and genuine flavor. These savoy cabbage rolls are perfect for a family dinner.

Savoy cabbage leaves are first blanched in water, then stuffed with a mixture of ground meat (beef and pork), mortadella, egg and cheese. They're rolled up and then cooked in a pan with a drizzle of oil. So let’s see how to make the savoy cabbage rolls by following our simple recipe and tips step by step.

Tips

You can serve these Italian stuffed cabbage rolls with a salad or roasted vegetables.

For a richer recipe, add ham or bacon instead of mortadella.

You can flavor the dough with aromatic herbs, rice, milk or stale bread.

If you prefer, you can bake the savoy cabbage rolls in the oven.

In case you have some meat dough left over, just prepare some delicious meatballs to cook in a tomato sauce.

How to store Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

The capunets can be stored in the refrigerator, in a special airtight container, for a maximum of 1-2 days.

If you have any leftover dough, it will be perfect for tasty meatballs.

How to make Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Clean the savoy cabbage and peel it trying to keep the leaves intact.

Wash the savoy cabbage under fresh running water.

Chop the mortadella.

Collect the minced meat in a bowl.

Add the mortadella.

Add the egg.

And then the grated parmesan cheese.

Season with salt.

Season with ground pepper.

Knead well until the mixture is homogeneous.

Blanch the savoy cabbage leaves in boiling salted water.

Drain and dry them carefully on absorbent kitchen paper.

Place a meatball of filling the size of an apricot in the center of each leaf. Wrap it with a savoy cabbage leaf, forming a rather tight roll. Continue in this way until all ingredients are used up.

Peel and chop the onion.

Brown it in a large pot with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Arrange the savoy cabbage rolls and brown them well.

Once golden brown, gently turn them over and continue cooking with the lid on for about fifteen minutes over low heat.

Turn off the heat, then serve the Italian stuffed cabbage rolls very hot. Enjoy!