To make the cabbage rolls, we need to boil the potatoes the day before and keep them in the fridge, so they can be sliced thinly without problems; or we can boil them on the day and then mash them to obtain a puree to spread on the cabbage leaves (I recommend this because it makes rolling the rolls much easier)..

The cabbage leaves and the stockfish (the latter will undergo a “passive” cooking to prevent it from becoming mushy) can instead be prepared on the day of making the rolls.

A tip on stockfish. The times of passive cooking generally refer to thick, solid pieces, at least one and a half fingers thick. If not, and if the stockfish is thin and already very soft, almost mushy, because it has been soaked for too long, I recommend leaving it in the boiling water of passive cooking for no more than 5 minutes, to avoid ending up with an almost unmanageable mush for this type of recipe.

Preparing the cabbage. We extract 8 large, intact, and beautiful cabbage leaves. We can use both the outer and slightly inner ones. I recommend the outer, greener ones, as they are more solid and compact and less likely to break. Moreover, I always suggest boiling a few more cabbage leaves than the number of rolls we intend to prepare, precisely to be able to replace any that break or have holes.

Put water in a large pot and bring it to a boil.

In the meantime, wash and drain the cabbage leaves and prepare a large bowl with cold water.

When the water boils, add the cabbage leaves, all together, cover, and let boil for one to two minutes at most (only if they are fleshy and firm; otherwise one minute will suffice).

Drain them immediately and dip them in cold water for 5 minutes; let them drain in a colander.

Preparation of stockfish. About the stockfish, I used the part known as “belly”; the fillet, called “curuniello,” can also be used. On this subject, if you are interested, at this link, you will find the history of the stockfish processing technique. Moreover, remember that stockfish, unlike salted cod, is completely bland, so adjust with salt, as otherwise, the dish might be completely tasteless.

Simultaneously with the water for the cabbage leaves, boil in another pot a carrot, a quarter of an onion, and the celery stalk (all already washed and peeled of spoiled or inedible parts).

When the water comes to a boil, add a large handful of coarse salt, add the stockfish pieces, cover, let cook with the lid on for 60 seconds only, and then turn off, without touching them for about 15 minutes maximum. If the stockfish pieces are very thin but with firm flesh, about 6-8 minutes will suffice for them to cook passively perfectly.

After the time, drain the stockfish (first photo on the left) and remove skin and any bones, “flaking” it as in the second photo above.

Cut both the carrot and the celery stalk, used in the stockfish cooking water, into small cubes.

Take a baking dish suitable for containing the six rolls we will prepare and grease it with some extra virgin olive oil, or line it with parchment paper.

Preparation of the rolls. On a cutting board, place a leaf with the green side facing us, spread it out well and gently. If the back of the leaf is too thick and prevents rolling, cut it in half as seen in the photo on the right.

1) Sprinkle the inside of the leaf with a pinch of fine salt, then place a first layer of very thin potatoes (or a teaspoon of potato puree), possibly keeping towards the center of the leaf

2) Add some diced carrots and celery.

3) Place some “flakes” of stockfish.

4) Add some pitted black olives.

5) Finish with another pinch of fine salt.

6) Carefully roll the cabbage leaf, starting from the wide, green part and moving to the back, bringing the two lateral ends of the leaf inward as you roll it, and finally, place it in the baking dish with the seam down.

Continue until all the cabbage leaves are stuffed and place them in the baking dish as you go along. Most likely, you will have leftover ingredients that you can use to prepare a pasta sauce.

Preheat the oven to 390°F and, at mid-height, place the baking dish with the rolls, on which you will have sprinkled another pinch of fine salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Bake them for about 20-25 minutes at most. The cooking times are calibrated for my gas oven, with heat only from the bottom in static mode.

A little extra idea. We can replace the stockfish with salted cod; in this case, do not use salt. The procedure remains the same, but some advice is needed regarding the cooking; if the salted cod pieces are at least two fingers thick, the passive cooking times will be about 20 minutes, while if they are one finger thick, the passive cooking times are similar to those indicated for stockfish.

Bon appetit