Sep 2, 2015

veganmofo - childhood meal + stuffed cabbage bowl

Second day of #veganmofo - childhood meal!

The second suggestion from the folks at veganmofo have us recreating a childhood meal. I love developing Hungarian recipes and have done so in both Everyday Vegan Eats and the upcoming cookbook, Vegan Bowls (AmazonB&N).

Everyday Vegan Eats  (AmazonB&N) contains my most (most!) favorite Stuffed Cabbage recipe, which is a complete throwback to my childhood. I lived in restaurants and one of my parents most popular dishes was Stuffed Cabbage.

At the restaurant, my dad tweaked the Hungarian-style Stuffed Cabbage to be more Jewish-style with the addition of tomato sauce and sweetness. Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage is sour and made with ground meat and rice and a touch of smoke. Jewish-style Stuffed Cabbage contains tomato sauce and is sweet instead of sour.

I grew up with the Jewish-style Stuffed Cabbage, which explains why it appears in Everyday Vegan Eats! And while I completely love that version and  reserve a spot in my heart for it, on special (and only special!) occasions my dad would make the authentic Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage; therefore, now, I am at a loss as to which to pick for this round of mofo! Thanks, Obama!






However, since my publisher pulled my authentic Stuffed Cabbage-style Bowl from Vegan Bowls and the recipe will not be appearing in itI get to share a freebie bowl recipe with you!

Typically, publishers pull recipes for lack of space, recipe difficulty or recipe length. In this case, I think maybe a little bit of all three was involved. While this bowl recipe is not too difficult, not too lengthy and does not take up too much space, I agree that it is partly a bit of all three and the decision to omit it was the right one.

Having said that, this is the easiest way to make stuffed cabbage, period. A bit more involved in the multi-tasking area, but definitely worth it.

This is a great time to introduce you to black cardamom. Black cardamom is not to be confused with green cardamom as they are night and day. Black cardamom is smoky and earthy and green cardamom is floral and sweet. I've discovered that I like using black cardamom because it brings smokiness to dishes without using liquid smoke. I love that!

Another very important thing to note: you MUST add the vegan sour cream. Make your own whole foods version or buy store-bought, but the sour cream brings the dish together. Without it, I'm afraid disappointment is in store. There is a creamy, sour, and tangy component that this dish desperately needs and cannot fare well without. Even the non-vegan version needs it, so do not skip it.










Stuffed Cabbage-Style Bowl
Unlike the tomato-based stuffed cabbage that we have come to love, Hungarian stuffed cabbage includes very little tomato. Instead, it is full of soured cabbage. In fact, even the cabbage that the rolls are stuffed in is a head of sour cabbage. To bring this traditional dish to a vegan bowl, I combine sauerkraut and green cabbage. Hungarians wouldn’t dream of preparing any dish without sour cream, so to make this bowl complete, I call for vegan sour cream, either store-bought or homemade, using the recipe from the Paprikás recipe.
Serves 4
SFO

Mushrooms:
6 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Lentils:
3 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 cup green lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 large black cardamoms
2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
1/2 cup drained sauerkraut

Rice:
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cups long-grain white rice

Lecsó:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 medium bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch slices
2 medium Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
1/2 head small green cabbage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

Sauté:
2 tablespoon whole-wheat pastry or all-purpose flour
1 cup drained sauerkraut
2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon olive oil

Vegan sour cream, homemade or store-bought

1. Mushrooms: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Transfer the mushrooms to a baking sheet and bake until considerably shrunk, about 5 minutes. Combine the oil, tamari and paprika in a small bowl and stir into the mushrooms. Stir well and arrange the mushrooms in a single layer. Continue to bake until almost crisp, about 10 to 12 more minutes, stirring midway through cooking. Set aside.
2. Lentils: Combine the broth, lentils, cardamom, paprika and sauerkraut in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce to a strong simmer over medium heat and cook until the lentils are tender but not falling apart. Remove and discard the cardamom. Drain and reserve 1 1/4 cups of the cooking broth.
3. Rice: Heat the water and salt over high heat in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and add the rice. Cook the rice until tender. Drain and set aside.
4. Lecsó: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper, cover and cook until softened, about 4 more minutes. Add a splash of water or broth if needed, and add the tomato, garlic and thyme. Cook until the tomato breaks down, an additional 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook to wilt, about for 3 minutes.
5. Saute: Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour and stir until well incorporated. Add the drained rice, the reserved broth from the lentil, the sauerkraut and the paprika. Stir well and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved lentils, drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil and continue to simmer for an additional 3 minutes.
6. Assembly: Serve the cabbage sauté in bowls, garnished with vegan sour cream and the bacon mushrooms. 

Quick tip: Preheat the oven to 425°F right away. Heat the broth for the lentils and the water for the rice right away. First chop the onions and then begin chopping the mushrooms while the onion cooks. Chop the bell pepper while the onion cooks. Chop the tomato and cabbage while the bell pepper cooks. 

Soy-Free Option: Substitute coconut aminos with a few pinches of sea salt for the tamari.

Substitute: Substitute 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke for the black cardamom.


 © 2015 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

12 comments:

  1. Ooh I'd like to try this, particularly with black cardamom - I never knew that even existed but I like the sound of the flavour. Will have to keep am eye out for some!

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    1. Best place to find them is in Asian grocers - Indian, Thai, Korean, etc. Amazon has it, too, but it is much more economical at those grocers. Thanks for visiting!

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  2. This bowl looks delicious. Thanks for sharing even though it was pulled!

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  3. Wow, this looks incredible! I love sauerkraut, so I can only imagine how amazing this smoky cabbage dish with sour cream would taste <3

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    1. If you like some a lot, double or triple the black cardamom or liquid smoke. That's the way Hungarians like their cabbage ;) Thanks for visiting!

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  4. Stuffed cabbage sounds pretty daunting in general - but this version in a bowl sounds much more manageable (and more delicious, especially with the mushrooms & lentils)

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    1. It is a pretty involved process, #truth. This one is much more manageable! Also, the mushrooms, are the "bacon."

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  5. I've never even heard of black cardamom. How intriguing! My husband is a huge fan of all Hungarian food, so this would be a fun one to make for him. :) Can't wait for the bowls book!

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    1. If you get the chance to make it, Amey, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Of course, no sweat if you cant' find black cardamom right away - go ahead and use liquid smoke. If you do get the chance to get it (happen to be at an Asian grocers), your smoky cooking will have a different stance. Thanks for visiting!

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  6. Thank you for your wonderful new vegan bowl book! We have slowly been working our way through it and it is amazing!
    We have yet to use the cardamom pods in the recipes, not sure if you put them in whole and then remove, or split open for seeds? There seems to be completely differing opinions online...thanks in advance!

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    1. Hi! That is so wonderful to hear!

      The black cardamom (not green, again, I like to emphasize since the flavors are so different) are only used in the recipes for the smokiness of them. They are placed in whole. The smaller they are, the more flavor they will impart to the food - but the more of them you should use. For instance, if the recipe calls for 2 large, then use 3 to 4 small pods. Larger pods are about 1-inch in length and 1-inch in width, the smaller pods are about 3/4-inches long and 1/2-inch in width.

      Green cardamom are sometimes split open and the seeds are used out of the pods, but since finding the black ones in the dishes to discard them would be too painful, I just use them whole and remove them at the end of the cooking time.

      Please let me know if you have any other questions! You can also email me; my contact info is on the right of this screen.

      Thank you for supporting "Vegan Bowls" and thank you for your feedback!

      Zsu

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Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu