Cabbage roll pie with avgolemono sauce

Core 2 green cabbages down to the core with a small knife.

Boil salted water (one pot per cabbage). Cook the cabbage core side down 15 minutes, flip and cook about 15 minutes more; lift off leaves as they separate and soften and drain them in a strainer.

Cook a finely chopped onion in about a quarter cup of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat about 10 minutes until soft.

Add 2 lb ground beef, season with salt and black pepper, and cook over medium-high until no longer pink.

Add 1 cup (200 g) arborio rice, 1 tsp salt, 1 cup water and the juice of a lemon; bring to a boil, then simmer on low about 8 minutes, until the rice is partly cooked and most liquid has evaporated.

Off the heat, stir in chopped fresh dill and plenty of fresh parsley; taste and adjust seasoning; let cool a little.

Lightly grease a round baking dish with olive oil and line with overlapping cabbage leaves; add the meat and rice filling (chop any small leftover cabbage pieces into it) and cover with another layer of leaves, tucked in well.

Drizzle with a little olive oil, add 2 cups water and the juice of another lemon; weigh down with a plate and cover with foil.

Bake at 350F for an hour; remove the foil and bake another 35 minutes. Remove the plate and let sit at room temperature.

Bring 4 cups chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan. In a pitcher whisk 3 egg yolks, 2 tbsp cornstarch and the juice of 3 lemons until smooth.

Pour the boiling stock over the egg mixture while whisking, return it all to the pot and cook about 5 minutes until it boils and thickens a little.

Slice the pie into serving pieces, pour the sauce over and let sit about 15 minutes before serving.