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Deconstructed Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls

A vegetarian one-pot cabbage roll meal without the rolling.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Ukrainian
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tbsp oil
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp oregano fresh, chopped
  • 1 tsp thyme fresh, chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 small cabbage thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp vegemite optional, but this adds a huge depth of flavor
  • 1 pound tomatoes fresh *See notes
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 1 cup rice
  • 1/2 pound lentils dry
  • 4 cups vegetable broth

Topping

  • 16 oz sour cream
  • 1 tbsp dill (or green onions or chives)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat Dutch oven or large stock pot on medium heat on the stove-top and swirl oil to coat the bottom of the pot.
  • Brown onion in the oil.
  • Add garlic, oregano, thyme, and salt, and pepper.
  • Add cabbage and cook for 10 minutes to soften/make room in the pot and brown a bit.
  • Add vegemite, tomatoes, broth, lentils, and rice and stir to evenly distribute.
  • Bring the whole pot to a boil and then reduce heat to low/medium-low, cover and cook for 75 minutes. Do not open while the rice/lentils are cooking!
  • Test the rice/lentils for your desired doneness (after the full 75 minutes) and if they still need more moisture/time, add another 1/4 cup of water, stir, cover, and cook 10 more minutes.
  • Serve topped with a good dollop of sour cream and herbs.

Notes

  • You can replace the fresh tomatoes with a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes and a 14 ounce can of tomato sauce.
  • If you replace the fresh herbs with dry, you will want to adjust the amounts. (ex: 1 tbsp fresh dill = 1 tsp dry dill, 1 tsp fresh thyme = 1/3 tsp dry thyme)
  • Feel free to play around with the toppings, you can replace Greek yogurt for sour cream or green onions for the dill.
  • If you adjust the dry goods amount (rice/lentils), make sure to adjust the broth, too! 
Keyword Cabbage, Deconstructed, One-Pot