Cook the whole cabbage in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and cool under cold running water. Cut out the core, then remove the inner cabbage leaves, leaving the outside leaves intact. Chop the inner leaves.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the bacon, chopped cabbage leaves, onion and garlic and fry until the onion is softened. Remove from the heat. Mix together the egg, cheese, parsley and salt and pepper to taste and stir into the cabbage mixture.

Place the cabbage 'shell' of large outside leaves in a casserole lined with foil and fill the shell with the fried mixture. Pour over the stock. Cover and cook in the oven for 1 hour. Uncover the casserole and cook for a further 30 minutes. To serve, lift the cabbage out, then remove the foil.

Try varying the ingredients of the stuffing by using lean minced beef or chicken dice instead of the bacon. You can omit the Parmesan cheese and use some concentrated tomato puree as a flavouring.