Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

Submitted by: Vicky

Prep Time: 30 mins Serves: 4 PerPerson: $1.01

Dietary: vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free

Description The Ukrainian Burrito in all its glory

Ingredients

$0.75 1/2 head of cabbage

$0.20 2c. rice

$0.60 1c. mushrooms (diced)

$0.20 4 cloves garlic (diced)

$0.30 1 onion (diced)

$1.99 1 can condensed tomato soup

$4.04 Total ($1.01 per serving)

This is one of the dishes we would traditionally make for Ukrainian (Orthodox) Christmas Eve...which is supposed to be a vegetarian meal (no meat for you, peasant!), though I am quite sure Grandma cooked it with lard, which is why mine always tastes different. Anyway, since Ukrainian farmers aren't really known for their balls-out wealth, this is a budget-friendly dish.

Directions

1. Get yourself a medium-sized head of green cabbage
2. Set a pot of water to boil (a large pot, something with enough water to cover the head of cabbage completely
3. Score the cabbage stem (make an 'x' on the bottom, this will help when taking off leaves)
4. Once the water is boiling, submerge the head for a few minutes. You want to soften up the leaves, but not cook the cabbage completely (if your leaves are mush, you did it wrong)
5. Take the cabbage head out of the water and put it immediately in an ice bath and chill it down
6. While the water is heating, make the rice (I happen to have an oh-so-useful rice cooker, but on the stovetop is fine too; add a cube of veggie or chicken bouillon for an added flavor punch. I use brown rice because I like the nuttiness, and I can get 10 lbs of it at Costco for 5$).
7. Brown the onions in butter (or olive oil if you have it on hand/are vegan, a 50/50 mixture of both gives a nice flavor) and throw in the garlic, saute but don't burn!
8. Add the diced mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, then move the mixture off the heat.
9. When the rice is done, stir it in to the mixture. This is your stuffing, and honestly you could just eat this, its delicious.

Now to the cabbage-y part:

1. Heat your oven to 400
2. Peal the outer leaves off the cooked cabbage (these will probably be dirty/overcooked, so nothing big lost)
3. trim a bit of the back stem off of the cabbage leaf. This will make it more flexible, and less prone to breaking when you roll it)
4. Fill the cabbage leaf with a spoonful of the rice mixture. Roll that shit like a burrito, and place in a pan (9 X 11 is good, either lined with foil or greased slightly). You should have enough mixture for about 12-14 rolls. You'll have cabbage left over, which is good, because cabbage can be used to make all kinds of things!
5. Now, the part that brings it all together - Condensed tomato soup. Trust me, its good. Pour the can over the cabbage rolls, and if you're feeling extra saucy (pun intended); and you happen to have it hanging around top with a bit of brown sugar.
6. Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for an additional 5-10, depending on your oven and how crispy you might want your cabbage.

Notes
This recipe can easily be modified to add meat, e.g. ground beef or sausage. Just brown it with the onions.That makes it a little more expensive, but this is still a dirt-cheap meal!