winter warmers

Now that temperatures drop, there are a few comforters we should bring back in our kitchen hobs. You all know about spanakorizo & spanakorisotto, it’s a big time favourite. How about cabbage though? Here is another one of the lathera dishes: Lahanorizo!

Head straight to the recipe.

Lahanorizo, or cabbage rice, is another dish from the ever popular Greek vegetarian dishes, lathērá. The lathērá dishes, take their name and deliciousness form the olive oil, láthi in Greek. These casseroles are based in very few but good quality seasonal ingredients where tomatoes as well as extra virgin olive oil take centre place.

Lathērá dishes form the core of Greek vegetarian cuisine. They are very often coined as grandma food, it’s these type of dishes we Greek tend to find winter warmth in. The big pots of veggie casseroles that we match with fresh bread and tangy barrel aged feta. Maybe a glass of house white too.

The herbs and main vegetables change by season, there is always a hipped tablespoon of tomato paste and a few freshly grated tomatoes. There is also long grain rice, the one we use for pilaf even though modern versions have adapted them to risotto too.

There are a couple of versions for lahanorizo, I prefer mine with spicy  paprika although the most popular is sweet and the Smyrnan version with raisins and pine nuts, but this one will wait for another post.

Print Recipe

Cabbage rice, lahanórizo

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Ingredients

• 1 medium cabbage
• 2 carrots
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 100 gr long-grain rice
• ml olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 heaped teaspoon of paprika
• 1 lemon for its juice
• 3-4 sprigs of freshly chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 800 ml water

Instructions

• Peel off the first layer of leaves of your cabbage and chop roughly (don’t shred thinly).
• In a heavy bottomed pot, heat up the olive oil and add in the onion and cook until translucent (about 7-8 min).
• Follow with the shredded cabbage, the chopped carrots, the salt and pepper to help the cabbage wilt.
• Toss the cabbage around, making sure it is well oiled. If the liquids in the pot are running dry, add a bit more olive oil. Let the cabbage wilt, it will loose almost half its size.
• Add in the rice and sauté.
• Next comes the tomato paste, followed by the paprika ( I used a spicy one). Pour in the water, best when it comes lukewarm from a kettle and let it come to the boil.
• Lower the heat and let it simmer with the lid on until the rice is cooked and the sauce has set. It shouldn’t take longer than 25-30 minutes.
• Lahanorizo is best finished with raw extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and a bit of fresh parsley.

Lahanorizo is best finished with raw extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and a bit of fresh parsley. Please don’t forget your loaf of fresh bread and feta! It’s a match made in heaven.

Keep warm!

from London with love,

Eugenia

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