I love cabbage rolls. But if you use the traditional boiling water method of separating your cabbage leaves, it is a lot of work. The cabbage is placed whole in a big pot of boiling water and repeatedly pulled out and the outer leaves pulled off. Instead of steaming up your kitchen, freeze your cabbage ahead of time for a few days and when you defrost it, those leaves they are pliable enough to roll. No more steamy kitchen and burned fingers either.
This recipe makes about 18-20 cabbage rolls depending on the size of the cabbages. Using a larger sized cabbage is best.
Cabbage Rolls
1 large onions , roughly chopped
15 cups mushrooms, cut into large chunks
1 tsp veggie stock powder, or salt to taste
1/4 tsp bl pepper
2 flax eggs
1.5 cups bulgur
2 cups boiling water
6 Tblsp mushroom seasoning ( optional) but adds a lot of flavour
2-4 cups quick or instant oatmeal, not cooked
1-2 frozen cabbages, depending on the size of your cabbages
1-2 large cans tomato juice
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix the bulgur and boiling water together and let sit for 20 minutes.
Sautee the onion in a hot pan, adding a little water if required,
When the onion begins to soften, add in the mushrooms.
When the mushrooms begin to release their liquid, add in veggie stock powder, garlic, black pepper and mushroom seasoning. Once the mushrooms are cooked and there is still some liquid in the pan remove them from the heat.
Carefully,( THE MIXTURE IS HOT) using an immersion blender, blend the mushrooms until they are finely chopped. I find that using a up and down motion is best and not using the motor continuously.
Add in the bulgur and flax eggs.
Mix well.
Add in enough oatmeal so that there is no liquid left.
Now let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes so the oatmeal absorbs any remaining liquid.
After the mixture sits, it should be thick enough to hold together if you formed a patty.
Adjust seasoning now.
Preparing the Cabbage
If your cabbage is not defrosted, then place it on a plate and microwave it for 4-6 minutes, until the outer leaves are no longer frozen.
Carefully, start by pulling the leaves off intact.
When you can no longer remove the leaves, because they are frozen, place the cabbage back in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Repeat pulling off leaves and microwaving, until you have enough leaves.
Cut out the hard thick vein of the leaf and the base using a V cut. I usually cut off about 1-2 inches of the vein depending on the size of the leaf .
Place a leaf on the counter with the cut part close to you. Place a scoop of mushroom mix on the leaf ,with the cut side close to you.
Continue rolling until all the mixture is used up.
Cabbage rolls can be stacked on top of each other.
Any leftover cabbage can be diced and placed on top of the cabbage rolls.
Pour tomato juice over cabbage rolls. Do not have tomato juice more than 1 inch from the top of the pan. This avoids the tomato juice boiling over.
Cover and bake at 350 F for 2-3 hours. Because the leaves are not pre cooked, I find that it can take as long as 3 hours depending on how many cabbage rolls you have made.
Cabbage rolls are done when the cabbage is easily pierced with a knife and the tomato juice has thickened and the rolls begin to turn a darker colour in places..
This inspiration for this recipe came from here http://www.canadianliving.com/food/bulgur_and_mushroom_burgers.php
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