STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS
We didn't have stuffed cabbage rolls often back when I was living at home. And if we did they never were the real deal with minced meat and all that, but instead they were mostly filled with a couscous or millet filling, which I would certainly be happy about today, but as a child it wasn’t necessarily my favourite. Anyways, what I am trying to say is: I had never eaten 'real' or let’s say traditional stuffed cabbage rolls, but I was curious how they would taste and so this recipe came about. I won't claim that this is the best (vegan) stuffed cabbage roll recipe in the world because I don’t really have a specific taste in memory I could build up upon. Nevertheless, I did a lot of research and looked at a lot of 'real' stuffed cabbage roll recipes, the ingredients and the method of preparation, to then cobble together my own recipe.
I contemplated fot the longest time whether I should use a meat alternative in this recipe or rather not. In the end I decided to try it with a vegan minced meat alternative to make the end result as authentic and similar to the traditional dish as possible. Of course, the vegan minced meat can also be replaced by vegetables, couscous, millet or beans. In the end, the filling for the cabbage rolls just needs to be malleable and not crumbly, so that you can roll the roulades well.
To prepare this dish is no sorcery at all and once you get the hang of rolling the roulades it’s actually pretty easy and fast as well. We served the rolls with potatoes and a creamy, herbal sauce. So simple, yet so delicious. The only thing that is very important, as already mentioned above, is the consistency of the filling and the preparation of the cabbage leaves.
For this recipe you need a whole head of cabbage. From that you carefully peel off the leaves without damaging them too much or tearing them apart, for this recipe you will need about 8 whole cabbage leaves. At the bottom of the leaf is the somewhat hard stalk, which you can cut out, otherwise the roulades may be difficult to roll later. Blanch each leaf individually in a large pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, the leaves will turn a beautiful bright green color and become more pliable. Carefully skim the cabbage leaf with a slotted spoon and place on a kitchen towel to drain. Do the same with the remaining leaves, then pat the leaves dry with a kitchen towel and set aside.
For the filling, you can use your favorite vegan minced meat. The vegan mince is mixed together with spices, mustard, chopped onions, fresh herbs and salt and pepper, you can also add vegan egg substitute for 1 egg if necessary, for the consistency. Traditionaly some recipes also add dry toast or white bread (that has been soaked in water) to the filling, this helps the consistency as well. We didn't have that at home so instead we just added some breadcrumbs to the filling.
To fill the cabbage rolls, place a cabbage leaf on the work surface, take some of the filling with wet hands and form it into a small roll with your hands. Place this roll on the bottom of the cabbage leaf, then fold over the right side and then the left side of the leaf. Now roll up the cabbage leaf tightly from the bottom to the top. The last step is to tie each roll with a string (kitchen twine is best, but you can also use a normal string) so that they do not open up during roasting.
Now there is nothing more to do than to heat some oil in a pan and sear the roulades on both sides. Then pour water into the pan, put a lid on it and steam the roulades for 15 Minutes. Before serving, the strings are carefully removed with some scissors. That's it! Quick, easy and delicious: our vegan stuffed cabbage rolls.
Check out the recipe bellow:
Ingredients (for 2-4 persons)
For the roulades
1 savoy cabbage (8 large leaves)
500g vegan minced meat
1 onion
½ bunch parsley
2 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp paprika powder
salt and pepper
A little nutmeg
20g breadcrumbs or 1 slice of soaked hard toast/white bread
For the sauce
100ml cashew cream or vegan cooking cream
1tbsp yeast flakes
½ tsp cornstarch + a dash of oil (whisk together).
salt and pepper
Nutmeg
Chopped fresh herbs (marjoram, thyme, parsley), if desired
Also
8 medium potatoes
Dried herbs
Instructions
1) Peel the potatoes, put them in a pot of salted water and boil until done.
2) Carefully peel off 8 leaves from the cabbage head. If necessary, cut out the stalk from each leaf. Blanch each leaf in boiling water for 30 seconds, then skim and transfer to a kitchen towel and pat dry with another kitchen towel.Set aside.
3) For the filling, finely chop the onion and parsley and place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix everything well with your hands until a homogeneous mixture forms.
4) Put a savoy cabbage leaf on the work surface, separate a part (about 2-3 heaped tablespoons) of the filling with moistened hands and form into a small roll. Place the roll on the bottom of the savoy leaf, fold the two sides over it, then roll up the roll tightly from the bottom to the top. Tie tightly with a string/kitchen twine and set aside. Do the same with all the remaining leaves until the filling is used up.
5) Heat some oil in a frying pan. Sear the roulades on both sides. Then deglaze with 100 ml of water, reduce the temperature to medium-low and let the roulades cook for 15 minutes.
6) Remove the fully cooked roulades from the pan and place on a plate. Pour the vegan cooking cream into the same pan with the remaining cooking water from the cabbage rolls. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring the sauce to a boil and thicken with the cornstarch-oil mixture, simmer again for a few minutes. Stir in the chopped herbs and remove the sauce from the heat.
7) Serve the cabbage rolls with the cooked potatoes and the sauce.
Enjoy!
Hi, we’re Marie and Michael, two foodies living and studying in Vienna!
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