Cabbage Lasagna (Cabbagna)

No pasta. Meaty, cheesy, and you won’t even taste the cabbage. You can find this recipe all over the internet but no one else calls it cabbagna that I know of. That’s my invention 🙂

What you need

• About half a head of cabbage (I use Napa; other kinds work too, but some need a little more blanching)
• Thick, meaty pasta sauce, spiced how you like it
• Ricotta cheese (about 500–600 g for a regular lasagna pan; use less if you want the other cheeses to stand out more)
• 1 egg
• Parmesan
• Mozzarella

I’m not giving exact amounts on purpose. It depends on your pan and how saucy or cheesy you want it.

Method

1. Make a good thick meaty sauce.
2. Heat the oven to 400°F.
3. Mix the ricotta with 1 egg. Add garlic powder if you want.
4. Blanch the cabbage. I put about a quarter of the head into the hot water at a time and peel the leaves off as they soften. The inner leaves take longer.
5. Pat the leaves mostly dry.
6. Put a little sauce in the bottom of the pan.
7. Layer cabbage leaves — don’t overlap them too much.
8. Add meat sauce, then ricotta, then some Parmesan.
9. Repeat the layers.
10. Finish with more Parmesan and a generous layer of shredded mozzarella on top so it browns. You can also add extra mozzarella between layers if you want.

Bake uncovered at 400°F for 25–35 minutes, until bubbly, golden, and the cabbage is fork-tender. It can take longer if the leaves were only lightly blanched. 

Rest 10–15 minutes before cutting.

That’s it. Use the sauce and cheeses you already like. The cabbage just takes the place of noodles.

It freezes GREAT, I may have liked it after freezing it better than fresh! 

I find this cabbagna easier and less fuss to make than regular pasta lasagna, especially when the meat sauce is made ahead. Enjoy!