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Vegetarian cabbage rolls in a tomato-raisin sauce
Morsels of rice and vegetable protein wrapped in a rich, raisin-studded, vinegar-laced tomato sauce. Adapted very slightly from a recipe by the Amateur Gourmet https://www.amateurgourmet.com/2011/12/stuffed-cabbage.html and Inna Garten https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/stuffed-cabbage-recipe/index.html.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cups chopped yellow onion
- 2 28- ounce cans crushed tomatoes and their juice
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 teaspoon of red chili flakes
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more, to taste
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 head green cabbage including outer leaves (I prefer medium-sized cabbages as they tend to be sweeter. But a large one will be just fine - just make sure it fits in your pot!)
- 2 packages of veggie ground round or any other simulated vegetable protein you like. I have even gone the route of rehydrating textured vegetable protein, and it works just fine, though makes for a less moist and fatty filling
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 finely chopped yellow onion
- ½ cup plain dried breadcrumbs or polenta, for a gluten free version
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- A large pot big enough to fit your whole head of cabbage
Instructions
- Remove the core of the cabbage with a paring knife. Place the cabbage in a pot, and fill pot with water, just enough to cover the cabbage. Remove cabbage from pot, and bring water to a boil.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce by heating the olive oil in a sauce pan, add the onions and cook until they’re translucent, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, vinegar, brown sugar, raisins, chili, salt and pepper. Bring that to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (and tasting for salt, vinegar, etc). Set aside.
- When the pot of water is boiling, which should be halfway through the sauce making process, carefully add the cabbage to the water. Cook for a few minutes until the leaves start to soften. Then, with tongs, start removing the cabbage leaves as they soften - the first should be ready in about 10 minutes. Continue removing the leaves as they soften, placing them neatly on a large serving plate.
- Make the filling with the chuck, eggs, onions, breadcrumbs, rice, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper PLUS one cup of that tomato sauce. Mix it all together lightly with a wooden spoon.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Place 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish or a Dutch oven. Lay your first leaf on the board, remove the hard triangular rib with a knife, and place a tablespoon or two of filling near the rib edge (the amount of filling will vary based on the size of each leaf. You do not want to overstuff your leaves). Then fold in the two cut sides over, and roll up toward the outer edge, continuing to tuck the sides in as you roll.
- Place the rolled cabbage, seam side-down, in the casserole dish and continue stuffing until you’ve either used up all your cabbage leaves or your mixture.
- (I usually end up having extra filling. I then chop up all the cabbage ribs that I removed earlier, along with the cabbage leaves that were too small to fill, and combine it with the filling to make a lazy man's cabbage casserole. I pour this creation into another casserole dish, and bake alongside my authentic cabbage rolls).
- Pour the rest of the sauce on top of the cabbage rolls, cover with tin foil or a lid and bake for 45 hour until the cabbage is cooked. Remove lid and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Serve hot, with some vegan or regular sour cream.