Who says you have to give up your favorite comfort foods when you cut
meat from your diet? This meatless version of classic stuffed cabbage
rolls is ever bit as delicious as the original made with ground beef, is
much lower in fat and calories, and is completely and totally
compatible with a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Stuffed cabbage rolls
are a crowd pleaser; if you make them once, you’ll be asked to make
them again and again. Their savory flavor makes them an excellent
special occasion entree, perfect for holidays, Sunday dinners, and
family gatherings. Best of all, following this recipe, you can make a
dish which is friendly to vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters alike.
It's so wonderfully tasty, the fact that it's meat free is simply no big
deal. It's sure to have everyone at the table wanting seconds - it's a
good thing the recipe makes plenty.
Cabbage is an excellent
source of vitamin K; one cup of cabbage contains over 90% of the
recommended daily allowance of the vitamin, which plays an important
role in metabolism and protein synthesis. The same cup of cabbage also
contains 50% of the recommended daily vitamin C allowance, and is an
excellent source of fiber, manganese, vitamin B6 and folate, riboflavin,
calcium, potassium, vitamin A, tryptophan, protein and magnesium.
Obviously, cabbage gives you a lot of bang for your nutritional buck.
Ingredients:
*2 quarts water
*1 large head of cabbage, green or red
*2 tablespoons butter (substitute Butter-Flavor Crisco for a vegan version)
*1 large onion, chopped
*3 cloves of garlic, chopped
*2 cups cooked white rice
*1 package Morningstar Farms Cooking Crumbles
*Salt and pepper to taste
*1 tablespoon dried parsley
*2 celery stalks, chopped fine
*1 green pepper, chopped fine
*4 cups tomato sauce
Directions:
Boil
two quarts of the water in a large pot. Core the cabbage and carefully
peel off the individual leaves, running under hot water if necessary to
loosen them. Boil the leaves two at a time for two to three minutes
minutes. Remove the cooked leaves to a collandar. Reserve two cups of
the cooking water. Cut out the bottom of the center vein on each leaf.
Melt
the butter or Crisco in a pan over medium heat and saute the crumbles
until browned; add the onion and garlic, and continue sauteeing until
they are also golden brown. Remove from heat and mix the contents of the
pan with the rice, salt, pepper, parsley, green pepper, and celery.
Place
1/4 to 1/3 cup of the rice mixture on each cabbage leaf. Roll the
leaves up by folding in the sides, then rolling from the bottom of the
leaf. Carefully place the finished rolls back in the pot used to boil
the water. The rolls do not need to be perfect, by any means, as long as
they are placed close together in the pot.
Combine the tomato
sauce and the reserved cabbage water in a bowl. Pour enough into the pot
to almost cover the cabbage. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat,
then reduce the heat to low and simmer for two to three hours,
gently pressing the rolls down into the sauce periodically. Add more of
the tomato sauce and water mixture to the pot as needed. Let the rolls
stand for a few minutes before dishing them up. Serve on beds of white
rice or mashed potatoes.