The Pope's Cabbage Rolls

So, I lied.  Already.  These cabbage rolls are really actually an attempt at re-creating my Nana Blanche's cabbage rolls, which were a childhood favorite of mine (mostly because they involved ground beef).  I had placed cabbage rolls on the heap of Delicious Foods I'll Never Eat Again when I became vegetarian, but then The POPE, my go-to neighborhood bar, had vegan cabbage rolls on their specials board one day.  I ordered them, thinking that, at best, they'd be reminiscent of my Nana's meaty recipe.  A sad vegan nod in the direction of something that tasted good.  But somehow, when they arrived at the table, they not only smelled like my Nana's cabbage rolls, but they tasted just as good.  Sweet and hearty and salty and -- through some culinary wizardy that I only hope one day to master -- meaty.  I almost ordered a second helping to take home, so that my home would be filled with the smell of childhood and comfort and weird Polish cooking.  

When my parents gifted me with a few heads of cabbage as part of their post-Christmas off-loading of all the leftovers, baked goods, and random produce items in the house, I knew I had to at least try to make vegetarian cabbage rolls.  A quick Pinterest search gave me some basics for cooking cabbage (throw the whole head in boiling water? who knew?) and cooking temps and times, but no recipes resembled exactly what I was looking for.  So, I decided to wing it. 

The cabbage rolls at The POPE were primarily bean-based, where all of the recipes I found involved a grain like quinoa or lentils.  I was slightly tempted to use a tiny bit of rice, as that was what my Nana used in her recipe, but my laziness love of simplicity won in the end, and I kept the ingredients minimal:

• a healthy drizzle of olive oil

• 1 head of cabbage

• 4-5 cloves of garlic

• half of a yellow onion

• 1 can of white beans (drained and rinsed)

• 1 can of tomato sauce

Preheat your over to 375.
Boil a large pot of water.  Gently place the head of cabbage in the water and boil, uncovered, for 7-8 minutes.

While the cabbage is boiling, chop the garlic, onion, and beans.

Chop the beans?  Heck yes.  Give 'em a rough chop so that they're not all uniform bean size.  Or, create a really satisfying sense of order in your life by carefully slicing them one at a time. (If you choose this route, though, don't get so blissed-out by the Zen of bean slicing that you forget about the cabbage!)

When the cabbage is done boiling, remove it from the water and allow it to cool down enough to handle.  You may want to let it rest in a colander to drain excess water.

While the cabbage is cooling, sauté the garlic, onions, and beans in the olive oil over medium heat until the onions become translucent.

Incorporate about 1/3 of the tomato sauce into the beans and remove the pan from heat.  The mixture might seem a little dry, but don't worry!

While the beans are cooling, coat the bottom of a small baking pan (I used a 6 x 9 inch Pyrex) with a thin layer of tomato sauce.

Gently peel about 8 leaves off of the head of cabbage.

Now, the fun part.  Take one leaf of cabbage and orient it so that the thinnest, leafiest part is facing you and the rib is facing away from you.  The leaf should have a natural bowl shape to it from being on the head of the cabbage.  You want to use this to your advantage, and not fight against it.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the bean mixture into the cabbage leaf. (The amount will vary on the size of the leaf.)

You want to be sure you have about 1/2 inch to 1inch of cabbage on the sides and bottom of the bean mixture, and at least 2 to 3 inches at the top.
Fold the sides of the cabbage over the beans, and then fold up the bottom.  Like you're making a tiny Polish burrito. 

Carefully roll the bottom of the leaf up to meet the top, making sure to keep the beans securely wrapped as you go.  Once you've rolled the leaf up completely, place it in the pan with the rib side of the roll facing down.  Repeat, placing the rolls tightly against one another in the pan, until you've used up all of the bean mixture. 

Your cabbage rolls might range in size, which is totally fine.  They'll be perfect next time.

Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over the rolls and bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Allow the rolls to rest for about 10 minutes once they are out of the oven.  Top with extra sauce from the pan before serving. 

And there you have it!  My Nana Blanche would be so proud. Confused by beans-instead-of-meat substitution, but proud nonetheless.