Vegan Cabbage Rolls
Vegan roast or mushroom ragout? It is a difficult decision that we have to make every Christmas. And as if the decision wasn't hard enough already, here's the next Christmas recipe: vegan cabbage rolls.
As I grew up in a cabbage rolls-free household, I had to get some outside help for the test cooking this time. Luckily, I was able to find one or two cabbage roulade connoisseurs in my circle of friends. The result: the vegan roulades taste just as savory and hearty as the original! And they're actually not as difficult to prepare as you might think.
The filling for our roulades consists of "fresh" vegan minced meat. You can now find it at many discount stores and supermarkets. The taste and consistency are perfect for the filling, as it is easy to shape and not as "dry" as soy granules. We also added cooked lentils from the tin. Of course, you can also soak and cook the lentils yourself. The filling usually ends up in a rolled white cabbage leave, but we opted for savoy cabbage because of its great green color. Both are perfect.
Make sure to remove the hard stems before blanching the leaves; this makes rolling a breeze. Before frying, secure the roulades with cooking string. You should never skip this step. Otherwise, the rolls will fall apart hopelessly. You can actually find cooking string in any supermarket or online. Alternatively, you can also secure the cabbage rolls with toothpicks.
To save you (and us) some work, we prepare the brown sauce directly in the pan in which the cabbage roulades are simmering (yay, no need to wash up). To do so, add the tomato paste to the roulades in the pan and deglaze both with plenty of vegetable stock. After about 30 minutes, the cooked roulades can be removed from the pan. Use the roulade stock to make the sauce. To do this, add the plant-based heavy cream, starch and spices to the pan one after the other until you have a thick brown sauce. We have served cabbage roulades and sauce with potatoes, but mini dumplings or potato dumplings are also perfect.
Tip: Anyone who has ever had a whole cabbage like this at home knows that it is practically endless. But don't worry, instead of making 50 cabbage rolls out of it, you could use the leftovers to make vegan cabbage and onion pasta or coleslaw, for example.
Vegan Cabbage Rolls
Ingredients
For the cabbage rolls:
- 6–8 white cabbage leaves (or savoy cabbage)
- 2 onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 50 g (1.75 oz) carrot
- 10 g (0.33 oz) fresh parsley
- 250 g (8.75 oz) vegan ground meat (fresh or pre-cooked)
- 250 g (8.75 oz) cooked brown lentils from a can (drained weight)
- 2 tbsp (1 oz) medium-hot mustard
- 2 tbsp (1 oz) tomato paste
- 1 tsp paprika
- vegan butter for frying
- salt
- pepper
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp (1 oz) vegan butter
- 2 tbsp (1 oz) tomato paste
- 500–900 ml (2–3.75 cups) vegetable stock
- 35 g (0.25 cup) cornstarch
- 100 ml (0.5 cup) vegan cooking cream
- 2 tsp gluten-free soy sauce (tamari)
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 pinch sugar
- salt
- pepper
For serving:
- 1.5 kg (3.25 lb) waxy potatoes
- fresh parsley
Instructions
For the cabbage rolls, peel and finely dice the onions, garlic, and carrot (or grate the carrot). Wash and finely chop the parsley.
In a bowl, combine the chopped onions, garlic and carrot as well as chopped parsley, vegan ground meat, cooked brown lentils, mustard, tomato paste, and paprika, and season generously with salt and pepper. Knead the filling well with your hands so a moldable mass forms.
For each cabbage roll, carefully cut one large leaf from the white cabbage away from the stem and wash it. Cut out the lower part of the stem in the leaf with a knife. Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot and blanch the cabbage leaves in it for 4–5 minutes. Then remove the leaves from the hot water, rinse under cold water, and let them drain on a clean dish towel.
Place 2–3 tablespoons of the filling in the center of each cabbage leaf. Fold the leaves from right and left and roll the cabbage roll tightly from bottom to top so a roll forms. Secure with kitchen twine so the cabbage rolls don't fall apart. Repeat this step with all cabbage leaves until the filling is used up.
TIP: Place the twine around the cabbage roll at the front end and tie it. Now wrap the kitchen twine around the cabbage roll several times until you reach the other end. Tie the twine again here and cut it off.
For the sauce, heat vegan butter in a large, deep pan. Fry the cabbage rolls in it so they're nicely browned on all sides. Add the tomato paste to the pan and roast it together with the cabbage rolls.
Now pour in vegetable stock until the cabbage rolls are almost covered, place a lid on the pan or roasting dish, and braise the cabbage rolls for 30 minutes over medium heat. The sauce should only simmer gently.
In the meantime, peel the waxy potatoes and place them in a pot. Cover with water, salt, and simmer for 15–20 minutes until they're soft and you can poke them with a fork.
Then remove the cabbage rolls from the pan. Mix cornstarch in 2–3 tablespoons of water and add it to the sauce. Stir in vegan cream and season the sauce with gluten-free soy sauce, marjoram, sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Simmer for 1–2 minutes until it thickens slightly. Return the cabbage rolls to the pan and remove from heat.
For serving, wash and finely chop the parsley. Serve the cabbage rolls with the sauce and potatoes and sprinkle with parsley.
