Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

201. Recently, our family meals have been "meat-free" meals. After making a large varieties of soups, salads and veggie casseroles, I decided to make stuffed cabbage. But, without ground beef??? Why, yes!

I prepared the cabbage as I usually do (recipe here), and then mixed up the filling next.

Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

cabbage rolls:

1 large green cabbage, cored

filling:

2 cups long grain rice

1 container tofu, rinse and crumble into small pieces

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, minced

1 egg

1/2 cup chopped tomato

1/4 cup chopped parsley

salt/pepper

sauce:

1 small onion, chopped

1 large can chopped tomatoes

1 clove garlic, minced

olive oil

salt/pepper

Prepare the cabbage by dropping the whole cabbage in a pot of boiling salted water. As cabbage leaves come away from the head, remove each one from the pot and place in a cold water bath. Drain and set aside.

Prepare the sauce in a large dutch oven or deep, wide sauce pot. Saute onions in olive oil. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add can of tomatoes and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer

Mix the filling ingredients together. Fill the cabbage leaves with a heaping tablespoon of filling. Wrap the cabbage leaves loosely to allow for rice to expand. Place wrapped cabbage leaves in the simmering sauce.

Cover the cabbage rolls and allow them to simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.

Cabbage rolls will be tender, rice will be soft and cabbage color will be faded.

Delicious and no meat was used.

I kept the "tofu" a secret and my 12 year old gobbled them down. She really liked the flavor.

“One of the delights of life is eating with friends,

second to that is talking about eating.

And, for an unsurpassed double whammy,

there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.”
~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'