Vegetarian gołąbki

Step 1: Cut the core out of 1 white cabbage with a sharp knife. Lower the whole head into a large pot of boiling salted water. After 3–4 minutes, the outer leaves turn bright and pliable; peel them off with tongs and lift them out. Keep going until you have 12 large leaves.

Step 2: Cool the leaves, then shave the thick rib on the back of each so it is as thin as the rest of the leaf. Chop the small inner leaves and spread them over the base of a deep baking dish.

Step 3: Rinse 7 oz roasted buckwheat groats (kasza gryczana), put it in a pan with 1 ¾ cups water and a pinch of salt, bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Leave covered for 10 minutes; the grains should be tender but separate.

Step 4: Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry 2 onions for 6–7 minutes until golden, then add 10 ½ oz chestnut mushrooms and cook for 8 minutes more, until all their liquid has evaporated and they are browned. Stir in 2 cloves garlic for 1 minute.

Step 5: Mix the mushroom mixture into the buckwheat with 1 tsp dried marjoram, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. It should taste well seasoned.

Step 6: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Put 2–3 heaped tablespoons of filling near the stem end of each leaf, fold in the sides and roll up firmly. A common mistake is rolling loosely; loose rolls open in the oven and the filling leaks into the sauce.

Step 7: Pack the rolls seam-side down, snugly, in the dish on the chopped cabbage.

Step 8: Whisk 1 ⅛ lb passata, 1 tbsp tomato paste, ¾ cup vegetable stock, 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp salt and pour over the rolls; add 3 allspice berries and 1 bay leaf. The sauce should come about two-thirds of the way up.

Step 9: Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 minutes more, until the leaves are soft enough to cut with a fork and the sauce has thickened. Rest for 10 minutes and sprinkle with 2 tbsp dill.