This Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Vegetarian) recipe is a hearty, healthy and flavorful substitute for the traditional meat-filled cabbage rolls.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Vegetarian) History
I thought the cabbage roll was of Polish origin (called golabki). However after further research, I learned differently. In fact, most European countries, parts of Asia, North Africa and the Americas, all share similar versions of this dish. Wikipedia has an interesting history of each country that definitely worth the read.
It's all about the Prep
The Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Vegan) recipe is actually very simple. The ingredients are cheap and easy to find. However, the preparation and cooking are time-consuming. It takes about 30 minutes to prepped and another 60-90 minutes to cook. You've been warned.
I usually make this recipe with lean ground beef (90% lean) or ground lamb. We had some vegetarian friends over for dinner one night and I decided to see how Trader Joe's Beef-less ground beef would hold up as a substitute. It's about $2.99 per pound, which is less than ½ of what we pay for kosher ground beef.
There are 3 things to note when making this recipe. 1) I already mentioned the recipe is time-consuming (but worth it). 2) Gauging how many servings a head of cabbage can make is a little tricky because the leaves tear if you're not careful. I was able to get 14 usable cabbage leaves from one head of cabbage. This made for 14 rolls, using 1 lb of ground beef, mixed with a cup of rice. 3) Making the cabbage leaves pliable takes patience.
There are two ways to make cabbage leaves tender enough to roll. Start by coring out the hard stem from the cabbage head. Next, either freeze the head overnight or boil it for 10 minutes. Either technique will soften the leaves.
Carefully separate the each layer of leaves. I find it easiest to start with the thicker part near the core and run my fingers under each leaf, slowly pulling it away.
Wrapping up
The final step in preparing the leaves is to remove, with a V-shaped cut, the lower spine of each leaf. Now the leaves are ready to be stuffed with the mixture, rolled and cooked.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Vegetarian)
DESCRIPTION
INGREDIENTS
- 1 head cabbage
- 1 lb vegan ground beef (or beyond burger ground beef)
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 24 ounce crushed tomatoes
- 14 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup onion (chopped, divided)
- 1 egg
- 6 cloves garlic minced (divided)
- pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup fresh parsley (chopped for garnish)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Sauce:
- Saute ½ cup onions for 5 minutes, add ½ the garlic garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, sugar and red wine vinegar. Cover and bring to soft boil, then lower heat to simmer.
- Cabbage rolls:
- Core stem from cabbage head.
- Bring a pot of water to boil.
- Place cabbage head in boiling water for 10 minutes. Let stand until leaves are limp. Drain.
- Carefully peel each leaf off to avoid tearing.
- Using a knife to cut v-shape to remove the lower piece of cabbage leaf spine
- Meat(less) mixture:
- In bowl, mix beef, rice, egg, ½ cup tomato sauce, ½ garlic, ½ onions and salt and pepper.
- Form large tablespoon sized portion of mixture into sausage shape and place in each leaf; roll, tucking in the sides.
- Place, seam side down in baking dish.
- Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the rolls.
- Cover and bake at 350* for 60 minutes.
- Remove from pan, garnish with parsley and serve with rice, potatoes or your favorite side starch and/or vegetable.
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