Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Chorizo Seitan (Holubky)
These Chorizo Seitan and rice-stuffed cabbage rolls take a bit of time to prepare, but once you dig in with a slice of bread you'll be glad you made them.
Ingredients
For the Rice & Chorizo Seitan Filling
- 1 package Upton's Naturals Chorizo Seitan
- 1 cup medium or short-grain white rice uncooked
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- ½ medium yellow onion chopped
- 2 Tbs tomato paste
- 3- 4 Tbs vegetable or canola oil
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- salt & pepper to taste
For the Cabbage Rolls
- 1 medium white cabbage
- 1 & ½ cups chopped tomatoes
For the Tomato sauce
- 1 (400g) can tomato sauce
- ⅔ cup vegan sour cream
- 1 bunch of freshly chopped dill
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
Steaming the cabbage
- Fill a large stockpot 2/3 with water and bring it to a boil. Remove the core of the cabbage using a thin, sharp knife (this way it will be easier to remove individual cabbage leaves once softened). Save the core, you'll need it in the final cooking step.
- Once water is boiling, carefully place whole cabbage in with the core side down (make sure that most of the cabbage is under the water), cover with the lid and let the cabbage simmer for approximately 10-12 minutes.
Rice & Chorizo Seitan Filling
- While the cabbage is steaming, mix your filling. Heat oil on a skillet or saucepan and once hot, sauté 1⁄2 yellow onion and garlic until lightly golden brown in color (about 3-5 minutes).
- Add Chorizo Seitan followed by uncooked rice and tomato paste. Mix everything well until fully incorporated and set aside.
Shaping Holubky
- Carefully take softened cabbage out of the simmering water and let it cool for 10-15 minutes before moving on with removing leaves. Once cool to touch, remove leaves one after another. If leaves closer to the center of the cabbage are still too hard, return to hot water for another 5-10 minutes. If the cabbage leaves are too big, you can cut each leaf into two pieces. Before rolling Holubky, remove any hard stems from the center of each cabbage leaf. Be sure to save any scraps you trip for the final cook step.
- Place a tablespoon (or more if using large leaves) of a filling in the middle of a cabbage leaf and start rolling it tightly from one side to another. Always start rolling the leaf from the bottom (stem) to the top. Seal the sides of the cabbage roll to lock the filling inside, and to prevent the filling from oozing out while it cooks. Repeat with all of the remaining leaves and the filling.
- Before placing Holubky into a cooking pot, cover the bottom of the pot with a couple of softened cabbage leaves to prevent the very bottom layer of Holubky from browning too much.
- Then start assembling Holubky very tightly, one next to another, in a circular pattern on a bottom of the cooking pot. Continue with placing the second layer of Holubky on top of the first layer the very same way. Cover the last layer of Holubky with reserved cabbage trimmings and stems from above steps.
- Pour chopped tomatoes over assembled Holubky. Gently shake the pot a few times to make sure that the sauce has reached the bottom layer. Cover the pot with the lid and simmer Holubky on very low heat for approximately 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, test one piece to see if they’re done.
- Whisk together the tomato sauce ingredients, then transfer to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and serve immediately (hot) with a few Holubky. Serve with bread.
Notes
- Skip the cabbage cooking step by substituting fermented sour cabbage, which is already soft and ready to use.
- You can use brown rice, but you will need to cook the Holubky longer.
- If you have any extra filling, you can freeze it for several weeks. Once ready to use,
simply thaw the filling before filling the Holubky. - Watch assembly video here.