Greek Cabbage and Rice - Lahanorizo

I was looking for a dish to make with cabbage when I came across recipes for Lahanorizo, this Greek-style comfort food cabbage and rice meal. It's a one pot stew that's like unstuffed stuffed cabbage rolls!  

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tsps minced garlic

1 lb ground beef

15 oz canned tomato purée

1 carrot, shredded

8 cups chopped cabbage

1 tsp dry oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup rice

1 cup water or broth

1 tbsp lemon juice

Garnishes (optional) :

1 block halloumi cheese

chopped parsley

olives

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion and cook until golden and soft. Add the garlic and ground beef and cook until no pink remains in the beef, then stir in the tomato purée. Add carrot, cabbage, salt, pepper and oregano and stir well to combine.

Now push everything to the side making a well in the center of the pot. Pour the rice and water/broth in...

and push down with a spoon so the rice is covered with liquid. Bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer 15-17 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Let sit off heat, still covered, for 5 minutes then stir together adding lemon juice and parsley. Taste to see if you want to add more salt and pepper.

Cut the halloumi in 1/2" sticks and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and brown the cheese on all sides.

You can serve your Lahanorizo straight from the pot garnished with halloumi, parsley and olives or spoon it into a casserole dish for heating up later.

Serves 6-8