Easy Gluten Free and Vegan Borscht with Sauerkraut (#MeatlessMonday)

Free of gluten, dairy, soy, & eggs

A while back I shared a post with 25 Ways to Use Beets. There was a borscht recipe in there, of course, but it wasn't mine. This is the very simple, easy recipe I use to make borscht.

And believe it or not, my husband, who doesn't like beets OR sauerkraut, actually likes this borscht recipe. This vegan borscht takes only a few minutes to chop and grate the ingredients, and about 20 minutes on the stove, and is just about the simplest soup I've ever made. And it makes enough to serve 2 people throughout the week.

Which is absolutely perfect as we head into the chilly winter months and crave warm, comforting soup for lunch and dinner. Borscht is a cheap, easy, naturally gluten free and healthy soup that can be served with a big chunk of my Gluten Free Multiseed Multigrain Bread for a complete and satisfying meal!

Gluten Free, Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls (holopchi or goluptsi)

Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls for a Gluten Free Easter Dinner

I consider these the epitome of European comfort food, probably in part because they were a common element at family dinners with my grandparents.  Growing up, cabbage rolls (or holopchi in German and Ukrainian and goluptsi in Russian) were often served by my German grandmother, especially at Easter.  Those cabbage rolls were stuffed with ground meat and covered in tomato soup.  Since I don't really eat meat, I decided to make these in a healthy, cheap, vegetarian version. I've followed the bare bones of my Omi's recipe, but stuffed the cabbage leaves with rice and vegetables, then smothered the rolls in easy homemade tomato sauce.

Also, since Easter weekend is two weeks away, I thought I would get the jump on it and start posting some low-cost, gluten free Easter dinner dishes, starting with these cabbage rolls.  Later this week, I'll be experimenting with more German dishes, gluten free potato dumplings, and gluten free spaetzle, a flour and egg noodle that is boiled and smothered with butter.  Mmmmm....butter...

The ingredients are naturally gluten free, and very cheap, perfect for a budget friendly, gluten free Easter dinner.  They also serve double-duty as part of "cabbage fest," my attempt to provide recipes that make use of the ever so cheap cabbage in a variety of ways, while cooking gluten free on a budget.  Last week for cabbage fest I posted Veggie Wraps with Sprouts and Cabbage, an Asian inspired dish.  This week's cabbage roll hails from Germany, at the far end of the next continent, which I think speaks to the versatility of cabbage to work with a variety of flavours and international cuisine.  These are deceptively filling, too, so they can serve as a meal all on their own, or have one or two as a side with something else.

These vegetarian cabbage rolls also make a great dish to take to a potluck any time of year, as the recipe makes about 30 rolls, and they are free of most common allergens if served plain.  The bonus: since the rolls and all the vegetables are cooked, the allergen protein in the tomatoes, carrots and zucchini is destroyed, making them safe for people with Oral Allergy Syndrome.  Leftovers can easily be frozen and reheated for quick dinners later.    

Ingredients: (makes about 30 cabbage rolls)

1 c. white rice (your choice of type)

½ medium zucchini, grated*

2 medium sized carrots, peeled and grated*

½ onion, chopped fine

1 c. grated cabbage, approximately

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 large head of cabbage for wrapping the rolls

Vegetarian Holopchi

Sauce

2 c. vegetable stock*

1 15-oz can plain tomato paste or diced tomatoes*

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Optional toppings

Yogurt

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

More tomato sauce
Chopped parsley

    Directions: 

     

1. Prepare the head of cabbage to use for wrapping the rice and veggies.  There are two ways to do this.    The easiest one is to freeze a whole head of cabbage overnight, then remove it several hours before use to defrost.  Using a sharp knife, cut the core out of the bottom of the cabbage head and gently peel off all the leaves.  Alternatively, you could cut out the core, then boil the whole head until the leaves are soft and start to fall off.  

2. Mix the rice, zucchini, carrots, shredded cabbage, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl. 

3. Line a 9x13” casserole dish with extra cabbage leaves from the head of cabbage (optional, this is to help prevent the rolls from sticking to the bottom).

4. Roll the cabbage leaves on a flat surface: take a cabbage leaf and cut out the bottom of the hard stem.  Add 1-2 Tbsp filling to the bottom end of the leaf, leaving approximately 1” leaf to the right and left.  Folding the leaf like an envelope, lift the end of the leaf up and over the filling, then fold the right and left sides over.  Continue rolling to the end of the leaf.  Continue with the rest of the leaves to use all the filling. For a more detailed how-to, follow the directions for rolling Asian rice wraps.

5. Place the cabbage rolls in the baking pan, tucking them in close together. 

6. Mix together the sauce ingredients.  If using diced tomatoes, blend in blender or with hand blender until a paste.  Pour over the cabbage rolls to cover. 

7. Cover the dish with lid or aluminum foil and bake at 350F for 1 3/4 hr - 2 hrs, until rice inside the rolls is cooked through and leaves are soft. You may want to baste the rolls partway through to ensure the tops are evenly cooked.  

What does your family make for Easter dinner?  I'd love for you to share your traditions, and where they come from!   

*OAS Info: The boiling process *should* kill the allergen proteins in the zucchini and carrots.  If you are reactive to either, simply remove them, or replace with something you can eat.  As for the stock used, most commercial stocks use celery, an OAS food that likely does not lose its reactivity during processing, so if you are very reactive to celery you may want to make your own stock and eliminate the celery.

This recipe is shared with the following sites:

Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory Just Another Meatless Monday at Hey What's For Dinner Mom? Foodie Friday  on Rattlebridge Farm

Veggie Wraps with Sprouts and Cabbage

Gluten Free Asian Rice Wraps

Gluten Free Asian - style Sprout Wraps
a.k.a. cheap wraps, grow your own sprout wraps
gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, sugar free (optional)

This might sound strange to some of you, but I always keep a head of green cabbage in my fridge.  Always. No exaggeration.  I slip it into all kinds of dishes as a cheap filler, like the wraps shown here. These wraps are a standard in my house and my fiance was actually around the corner nibbling on the other ones while I was photographing these. 

I also love these wraps for traveling.  With so many food allergies, airport food offers very little in the way of options so I always pack a ton of food with me (more on packing food for traveling later).  The last thing anyone wants is to be sick on an airplane, or better yet, miss your flight because you're stuck in the bathroom!  I've found that taking lots of fresh veggies and rice cakes really helps to stave off that "I'm so gross, bloated, dirty, yucky, shouldn't have eaten that whole bag of chips" feeling from spending a day traveling.  These little wraps are a staple in my traveling lunch bag.  They hold up really well and I actually feel good after eating them, even if I am stuck on a smelly bus on the way to the airport. 

Ok, so on Saturday I suggested to my followers on my Facebook page and on Google+ that you all stock up on cabbage, as it's on sale right now for St. Patrick's Day.  I promised to give you recipes that had to do with cabbage!  (Here's a thank you to Rogene whose post on Gluten Free and Loving It reminded me about buying cabbage for St. Paddy's Day, therefore inadvertently inspiring me to post on cabbage).  Cabbage is always a good deal, even when not on sale, and is extremely versatile.  It can be used for everything from British to German to Asian to Indian cuisine and everywhere in between.  It can be raw, cooked, boiled, baked, or anything else you like.  It also stores well in the freezer, and can be taken out to use for cabbage rolls and wraps, or shredded for stir fries and curries. So to kick off the cabbage fest, I'm posting my recipe for gluten free Asian rice wraps. 

Mung Beans

So this recipe that I developed a while back uses cabbage, along with one of my favorite things - Home Grown Sprouts.  Those of you who have been following along with me for a bit know that I seriously love sprouts and have been working on incorporating them into everything, including Sprouted Green Lentil Bread and Sprouted Red Lentil Bread.  Well these wraps are actually based around two types of sprouts that you can grow at home, Mung Bean and Alfalfa.

Of course, you can just buy the grown sprouts in almost any market, but I prefer to grow my own.  It's cheaper, of course, and I just love to sprout.

Mung beans can be found in many markets that have a bulk section or an Asian section, or they can be found at an Asian market.  They are often used in soups, stir fries, or in mung bean noodles.  They're like little green, oval pea-type things with a white dot (see the picture to the right).   Alfalfa can be found in health food stores, or some enlightened markets ;)  Both should be very cheap, and you only need a very small amount to make about a dozen of these filling little wraps.

Ready-grown alfalfa is easy to find, but if you can't find sprouted mung beans, or the seeds, you can substitute sprouted soy beans (or sprout soy beans yourself) or most other pea or bean mixes.

Alfalfa sprouts

Note: If sprouting these yourself you'll need to plan about 5 days ahead, as the alfalfa take a few days to grow green leaves.  If one or the other of these sprouts is ready to go ahead of the other, you can refrigerate them.  Rinse and drain once per day until you are ready to use them.  They will keep in the fridge up to 4 days.

Ingredients: (makes about 10-12 wraps)

2 Tbsp alfalfa seeds (or about 2-3 c alfalfa sprouts)

4 Tbsp mung beans (about 2.5 c mung bean sprouts)

Shredded cabbage, carrots and mung beans

2-3 medium sized carrots, peeled, shredded or julienned finely*

approx. 2 cups of packed green cabbage leaves, then shredded or finely chopped (cut out the hard white centre)

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, chopped fine

1 Tbsp oil for stir frying

approx. 12 rice wrappers, available in the Asian section of most markets

Sauce:

3 Tbsp Gluten Free Soy Sauce (I use Bragg, widely available in markets - in Canada in Save-On or Choices) or GF Tamari sauce*

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp honey or brown sugar

1/4 c warm water (or veggie stock)

Directions:

1. If sprouting alfalfa and mung beans yourself, start with the alfalfa.  Soak for 5-6 hours, then drain.  Continue to rinse and drain 2-3 times per day (see here for more details on sprouting).  On the third day, once little tails have begun to grow, set the alfalfa seeds in a sunny spot.  On this day, you can begin the mung bean sprouts.  Soak overnight, or 8 hours, then drain.  Continue to rinse and drain 2-3 times per day.  When the alfalfa sprouts have little green leaves and the mung beans are about 1" long (really, you can use them anytime once they begin to sprout, but I like them a bit longer for stir fries) they are ready to go.

2. Heat a wok or large pan over medium heat.  Mix together the sauce.

3. Add chopped garlic and ginger to pan and cook 1 minute to release their fragrance.

Figure 1, laying out the veggies

4. Add cabbage and carrots, along with the sauce.  Cook until softened and cabbage begins to change colour.  This will depend on how you've chopped your veggies, julienned and hand sliced will cook a little bit longer.

5. Add mung beans and fry another 2-3 minutes, stirring to ensure the beans are cooked through.  Remove from heat and cool until easy to handle. 

6. In a large bowl, pot or plate, soak 2 rice wrappers at a time for about 1 minute (you can leave one in the pot while you work with the first one).  The wrapping is only a little tricky, but might take a couple of practices to get tight enough.  I've added some step by step photos to help. 

7. Lay out one rice wrapper on a flat surface (I use my cutting board).  Add a couple of spoonfuls of the cooked veggies to the end of the wrapper closest to you, leave a 1" border around the veggies.  Fig 1.

8. Using a fork to pry them apart, add a thick layer of alfalfa sprouts, about 1" high worth. Fig 2.  (Here you can see my set up - large pot for soaking rice wrappers, bowl of alfalfa sprouts, and off screen to the right, a plate for the finished wraps)

Figure 2, Adding alfalfa sprouts

Figure 3, wrapping the veggies

9. Fold the end of the wrapper up over the veggies, tucking it under them slightly and pulling it tight.  Fold the the right and left sides over this, creating an envelope.  Fig 3.

10. Keep rolling towards the end, pulling the veggies towards you as you go to wrap them tightly. 

11. Repeat with remaining veggies and wrappers.  How many wraps you get depends on how much filling you put in them.

Serve plain or with a little bowl of  dipping sauce, such as more Bragg and rice vinegar, or tamari sauce.

These little wraps are deceptively filling.  You can eat them as soon as you're done wrapping, or chill them in the fridge.  They also last a day or two in the fridge (honestly mine all get eaten within 24 hours so I can't say for sure how long they last).  As I mentioned, they also pack really well into a plastic baggy or container for traveling snacks, too.  So there you have it, wraps that are filled with cheap cabbage and sprouts, the fruits of your own hard labour, out tilling the soil in the hot sun, breaking your back, praying for rain... oh wait, it's not that hard at all!  Just spoon a couple of tablespoons of seeds into a jar and away you go!

What do you do with your cabbage?  I'd love to hear your ideas, and stay tuned for more of mine!  

*OAS Info: Carrots are high on the list of OAS foods.  The cooking process here *should* kill the allergen proteins and make the carrots safe to eat.  However, if you are very reactive you could try boiling them first, or eliminating them altogether.  If you have a problem with soy sauce, you could try substituting coconut aminos instead, or fish oil. 

This recipe is linked to the following wonderful sites:
the Gluten Free Weekly Meal Plan on www.musingsofahousewife.com,  Made From Scratch Mondays on www.allergiesandceliac.blogspot.com,  5 Dollar Dinners.com, Sugar Free Sunday on www.flipcookbook.com Fresh Bites Friday