Cabbage in Festive Sauce
A traditional cabbage recipe adapted for Vegans, emblazoned with a tasty and nutritious topping. Irish pigs will like this one too - they’ll think its like old times again!
Ingredients given are per portion – multiply according to the number of mouths to be fed.
Preparation Time
About ¼ hour
Cooking Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
- About 5 large green cabbage leaves
- Tablespoon of pot barley
- Teaspoon Vegan Margarine
- Juice of ½ fresh lemon
- Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion
- Fresh peel of about 3 dessert apples
- 125g Italian tomato passata or similar
- Seasoning (Vegan Worcester sauce, Celery seeds, to taste)
- ¼ tin of organic red kidney beans
Cooking equipment
- Stainless steel saucepan with steamer.
- Chopping board and knife.
- Additional Stainless steel saucepan with lid, and wooden spoon
- Lemon squeezer
- (Old jam jar or equivalent.)
- Small bowl
- Serving Spoon
- Warmed serving dishes
Method
- (1)) Take the outer green leaves of cabbages (or use other green leafy veg) and tear into small pieces with your hands. Place them in the steamer. (The small pale leaves of the cabbage can be used for another recipe, such as a fresh spring coleslaw salad.)
- (2)Put the pot barley in the same saucepan with the water, and steam until the leaves are tender, and the barley has swelled and is fluffy.
- (3) Peel and chop the small onion into small pieces. Put the olive oil into the other saucepan, and gently heat.
- (4) . Put the olive oil into the other saucepan, and gently heat.
- (5) Add the chopped onion to the oil, and fry until it has begun to turn transparent. Stir with the wooden spoon.
- (6) Chop the apple peel into bite sized pieces, and add to the saucepan with the onion. Stir until covered with the oil and cooking well.
- (7) Add the tomatoes to the saucepan. Stir.
- (8) Add the seasoning, stir and leave to simmer with the lid on.
- (9) Drain the red kidney beans (presuming they are the ready-cooked variety from a tin – preferably organic with no additives).
- (10) Squeeze half a lemon, and put the juice aside.
- (11) When the cabbage and barley are cooked, remove from heat, and stand the steamer aside. Transfer the barley into a separate bowl. (Put the water into the jam jar – it is full of nutrients and can be used as stock for soup, gravy or other recipes. Leave to cool then store in the fridge.)
- (12) Stand the steamer back on the saucepan. Put the Vegan margarine onto the cabbage, and pour on the lemon juice. Mix well with the knife.
- (13) Distribute the cabbage on the dish in a circular nest shape.
- (14) Take the sauce from the heat. Stir in the red kidney beans. Spoon the sauce into the centre of the cabbage nest.
- (15) Garnish the sauce with the pot barley, in a small mound in the middle. Serve with a glass of fresh, spring water.
Share an Irish blessing, and eat.
“I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead, his eye to watch, his might to stay, his ear to hearken to my need: the wisdom of my God to teach, his hand to guide, his shield to ward; the word of God to give me speech, his heavenly host to be my guard!”