Don’t Call It the Year of the Cabbage – It’s the Year of the Cabbage Roll

In January, Vogue sought to extend its authority from fashion to food by declaring 2026 as the year of the cabbage. It was the kind of publicity brassicas couldn’t buy, but we reckon it could’ve delved deeper into the leafy layers of the vegetable’s possibilities. It’s not just the year of the cabbage – it’s the year of the cabbage roll.

Of course, cabbage rolls have existed across cultures and continents for centuries, taking myriad forms, with rolled leaves encasing a variety of fillings including meat, grains and vegetables.

Its origins are debated, but stuffed leaves were a staple in Ancient Greece, and the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th Century helped roll the format out across Europe and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Asia independently birthed versions through Chinese dim sum traditions and Japan’s 19th-century adoption of Western cuisine.

But no matter how you spice, stuff, steam or simmer them, or what sauce you serve them with, or what your culture calls them, cabbage rolls are a universal comfort food. Now they’re having a moment in Australian restaurants. Some chefs are fancifying the dish to centrepiece status, while others are doubling down on the dish’s hearty, home-style roots.

In the thick of cabbage season, rolls received a primetime TV plug with Rosheen Kaul’s recent appearance on Masterchef Australia. The acclaimed Melbourne chef’s elimination challenge was an intricate seven-layer chou farci (French stuffed cabbage) with Asian flourishes. Inside: a spinach and tofu mousseline, a morel and shiitake duxelles, a caramelised zucchini puree, and jasmine rice orbiting around a gooey soft-boiled egg.

“You could say I became hyper-fixated on stuffed cabbage,” says Kaul.

“Did you know there’s a world championship of chou farci – the Championnat du Monde du Chou Farci – in France? Three-Michelin-starred chefs get involved. I’m so obsessed. To have such a humble vegetable become such a skilful dish is something special.”

Kaul served a slightly simplified version of her Masterchef dish for a time at her French Asian pop-up, Little Rose, in Melbourne, in limited numbers each service. “I’ve always put heaps of effort into my vego dishes,” she says. “You can’t just serve a roasted wedge of cabbage.”

There’s a similar reverence for vegetables at Aegli, a sophisticated Greek restaurant in South Melbourne. For chef-owner Ioannis Kasidokostas, “I don’t think you can get a more underrated or underestimated vegetable than cabbage in the wintertime”.

Kasidokostas puts a swanky seafood spin on lahanodolmades – Greece’s cabbage rolls – by mincing scallop and prawn instead of the traditional ground beef, lamb or pork, then mixing them with a very light pilaf. The rolls come bobbing in a deeply flavourful fish broth made with offcuts.

“It’s one of the most unexpected dishes for diners, in a good way,” he says.

Less fancy but just as fulfilling are the Ukrainian holubtsi at the recently opened Otakoi, and the Balkan sarma at Chevapi Grill. Other versions of the roll include Lebanese at Carlton institution Abla’s, Turkish at Anatolia Gozleme Kitchen, Romanian Hungarian at the suburban Cafe Transylvania, Japanese at Oden, and a pub take at the North Fitzroy Arms.

While it feels like cabbage rolls are really on a roll in Melbourne, with a range of newcomers, you can find plenty of variations in other Australian cities.

In Sydney, Euro-leaning diner Clarence and V pair them with stuffed vine leaves, while Ukrainian social enterprise Kyiv Social rolls hundreds of holubets a week with pork or porcini mushrooms. Polish golabki are served at Alchemy and Mamuska, and Akti and Alpha fly the Greek flag.

Adelaide deals in seven-spiced Middle Eastern malfoof at Balaboosta, as well as other takes at Balkan Grill Charcoal and Eastern European deli Mozaika. In Brisbane, both the Ukrainian and Polish clubs serve up community spirit with a side of cabbage rolls. And in Perth, The Old Laundry reps Croatia, and the Polish Jar does what it says on the jar.

Want to make cabbage rolls at home? Try this Greek recipe by Melbourne author Ella Mittas, taken from her 2024 cookbook Ela! Ela!