Seasonal Eats Better: Vegan Cabbage Rolls

Today is the start of Ina‘s and some other bloggers’ new monthly project: “Saisonal is(s)t besser” (or: Seasonal eats better). It takes place on every first Friday of the month in 2020. Since we have decided to eat more plant-based products for our own health and to have less negative impact on the environmental destruction, this project comes just at the right time.

Seasonal Eats Better: Vegan Cabbage Rolls - janavar

I have listed a few seasonal products for February. As the project mainly takes place in Germany, I also added some U.S. products for the sake of completeness. I know that the U.S. is the much bigger country of the two and citrus fruit are not native to Northeast.

Vegetables Fruit
in Germany and the U.S. butter cap, mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, lamb’s
lettuce, kale, leek, celery root, pumpkin,
potatoes, parsnip, radish, Brussel sprout,
red beet, turnip, Jerusalem artichoke, white
cabbage, savoy cabbage, onions, scorzonera
apple
also in the U.S. broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, spinach orange, tangerine, clementine, lemon, grapefruit, pear

Seasonal Eats Better: Vegan Cabbage Rolls - janavar

For a few weeks I really wanted to participate in the project, but wasn’t sure what to cook. Then I bought my slow cooker and everything immediately kind of fell into place in my head. First of all, I wanted to make something vegan. Second of all, something with cabbage. Thus vegan cabbage rolls. I also knew that Trader Joe’s sells frozen cauliflower rice – it is delicious and, at least for now, I try to even replace grains with vegetables when possible. The dish is rather simple, but very delicious. I particularly like that in this case it is totally worth it to make a big portion. Since everything requires a bit of preparation, making 6 cabbage rolls would take almost as much time as 20 rolls.

Seasonal Eats Better: Vegan Cabbage Rolls - janavar

Seasonal Eats Better: Vegan Cabbage Rolls - janavar

Vegan Cabbage Rolls

Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 head of white cabbage
  • 340 g riced cauliflower
  • 250 g mushrooms diced
  • 70 g walnut pieces
  • 2 onions diced
  • 6 garlic cloves diced
  • 2 tsp. soy sauce
  • thyme
  • olive oil
  • 6 smaller tomatoes diced
  • salt pepper

Instructions
 

  • Carefully pull one cabbage leave from the head after another.
  • Boil about a liter of water in a bigger pot. Once the water is boiling, put in ca. 5 cabbage leaves. Let them simmer for about 7 minutes, until they are tender and easily bendable. Take them out and let them drain (e.g. in a colander). Repeat with all remaining cabbage leaves.
  • For the filling: In a big bowl mix together one diced onion, three diced garlic cloves, the riced cauliflower, the diced mushrooms and the walnut pieces. Season with soy sauce, thyme and pepper.
  • Take one cabbage leave and put about 2 to 3 tsp.s full of the filling in the middle. Carefully fold and roll up the leave. Put the roll into the slow cooker. Repeat with all remaining cabbage leaves.
  • In a big pot heat up some olive oil. Add one diced onion and three diced garlic cloves. Fry until soft.
  • Add the diced tomatoes and let simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
  • Season with salt, pepper and thyme.
  • Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls. Be careful not to fill too much into the slow cooker (so that it won't boil over).
  • Close the slow cooker and either cook the cabbage rolls on high for 3 hours or on low for 7 hours.

Seasonal Eats Better: Vegan Cabbage Rolls - janavar

The only thing I might add or change the next time is that I would make a chasseur sauce because I think it would go exceptionally well with the mushrooms in the filling.

Seasonal Eats Better: Vegan Cabbage Rolls - janavar

© janavar

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