Lent has begun and at the beginning, it's always a bit of a challenge to get back into the swing of being vegan all the time. There's breaks for fish, of course, and shellfish is okay, but John doesn't eat those things, so I need to be prepared for all vegan, all the time... I headed to Allrecipes for some inspiration... Being the week of St. Patrick's Day, cabbage was SEVEN CENTS/LB at Shaws... Cabbage... Hmmm.
Anything with ground beef is EASY to convert to vegan, so when I found Cabbage Roll Casserole, it sounded easy, made a LOT (leftovers! lunches!), and I could easily switch it from meaty to vegan. There are pictures...
Shopping:
One head of cabbage
Onions
29 oz. can of tomato sauce OR your favorite jarred sauce
White rice (or rice that will normally cook for 20-30 minutes on the stovetop)
Box of Vegetable Broth (need 28 oz)
Optional bag of shredded carrots
2 bags of vegetarian grounds like Boca, Morning Star or Shaws Organics brand
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Drizzle a large fry pan with your oil of choice. I chose avocado oil. Chop one big onion and stir fry with two bags of vegetarian grounds, until you have browned the grounds. Towards the end of the process, stir in pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder, etc. Be generous. Do what you wish with salt. Try cayenne pepper and/or red pepper flakes. I never measure savory spices.
While that's browning, roughly chop the head of cabbage, and mix it in a LARGE bowl with the 29 oz. can of tomato sauce and 1 cup of rice. When the grounds are done, pour them into the cabbage mixture and stir that all together.
Spray a lasagna pan with non-stick spray and pour in the cabbage mixture. Pour the 28 oz. of vegetable broth over the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for an hour.
After an hour, take off the foil and stir. If you want to add MORE veggies, now is the time to add 2 cups of shredded carrots. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another 30-40 minutes until the rice is soft.
In the meantime, I'm going to go make tofu chocolate pudding... After the hour and a half, the rice was done and the cabbage still had texture. Definitely a comfort food dish.
Pictures:
(Including Khione helping me blog this recipe...)
