These cabbage stuffed savoury pancakes have layers of flaky dough surrounding slow roasted caramelized cabbage. They're easy to make and delicious as a snack or starter.
The idea for these pancakes came from Chinese style scallion pancakes. You know the ones - flaky layers of dough with bits of scallion, fried to crispy perfection and eaten hot?
Last week scallion pancakes were popping up everywhere and have been on my mind in a very real way. Well when I made a batch of Romanian slow roasted caramelized cabbage and was thinking about exciting ways to enjoy it next-day - the idea of a savoury cabbage pancake was born.
This recipe is really easy to pull off once you have the roasted cabbage. The cabbage does take some time since it's slow cooked, but there are a lot of great ways to eat it including with cornmeal porridge as I served it recently or also as cabbage stuffed phyllo spirals.
The recipe for the dough came from Healthy Nibbles & Bites.
I doubled the original recipe and added 50 grams of butter for more richness- but if you prefer you can simply leave the butter out.
Cabbage pancakes ingredients
* 600g all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 370g water at room temperature
* 50g room temperature butter (optional)
* Around 2 cups leftover slow roasted cabbage
The result is something like a cross between a Chinese style scallion pancake and Polish sauerkraut pierogi.
Alternatives
If you don't have the time to make slow roasted cabbage then a quick sauté can also soften cabbage up enough for it to be stuffed into the dough.
Alternatively, why not try some kimchi? Or even just..scallion pancakes? Whatever you choose to do with it this dough is really easy and perfect for making crisp savoury pancakes.
Shaping
Once you mix the dough you simply cut it into 8 pieces, then roll out each one thinly, spoon on a thin layer of cabbage, roll it into a carpet and then roll it into a spiral.
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- Cabbage phyllo spirals with homemade phyllo
Frying
I assembled all 8 spirals first (which is what gave me the idea for cabbage stuffed phyllo spirals) and then one by one I placed them on a floured cutting board, flattened them into pancakes with a rolling pin, and slid them into a hot pan with the tiniest bit of vegetable oil.
Fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side (or until golden) and serve while hot, maybe even with a side of sour cream. You can make the whole process faster by getting two pans going at once.
If you're really in a rush - don't even bother flattening them - give them a quick egg wash, some sesame seeds and bake some cabbage stuffed phyllo rolls instead. 190 C / 375 F for 30 minutes is all it takes.
The process of turning the leftovers of a slow roasted cabbage dish into not one but two exciting snacks is the best kind of kitchen improvisation.
I love being able to repurpose leftovers in new and exciting ways - and it's especially good when one great dough recipe can do double duty as both a fried and a baked treat.
I hope you enjoyed this journey in improvisation. Please leave a comment below if you make this or it inspired your own kitchen improvisations.
Flaky Cabbage Stuffed Savoury Pancakes
Ingredients
- 600 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 370 g water at room temperature
- 50 g room temperature butter optional
- Around 2 cups leftover Slow Roasted Caramelized Cabbage
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Mix the flour with the salt and then add the water. Mix well with an electric mixer or wooden spoon until the dough is incorporated. Add a bit of oil if it's too sticky and knead for a few minutes until a smooth ball forms.
- Cut the ball into 8 pieces. Liberally flour your work surface and roll out the dough one ball at a time until it's very thin as shown in the pictures above. Try to aim for roughly a rectangle shape but don't fuss too much.
- Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of the roasted cabbage onto each pieces of dough in an even layer.
- Roll the dough like a carpet, and then twirl the rope of stuffed dough into a spiral.
- Prepare all of the spirals first and then heat oil in a non-stick pan over low to medium-low heat.
- Place each spiral on a floured cutting board, flatten it out with a rolling pin, and slide it into the hot pan.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden. Increase the heat if it's taking too long and decrease if it's burning in spots before it browns evenly.
- Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream if desired.
Michiel's Kitchen
These look absolutely yummy, thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Cristina
Thank you so much Michiel! What a coincidence - I happened to be on your site recently too and wow - such beautiful food! Those honey and soy glazed aubergine skewers you just posted look delicious!