As kale continues its reign as green superfood extraordinaire, we’ve been working on new and delicious ways to make it a regular part of our everyday lives—including this recipe for Vegan Kale “Cabbage” Rolls. Kale rolls—a play on cabbage rolls—feature a delicious combination of seeds and brown rice as the filling, all topped off with a homemade tomato sauce. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Tomato Sauce Ingredients
- 1 tsp coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- Splash of white wine
- 1 (28oz/ 822g) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15oz / 425g) can crushed tomatoes
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Vegan Kale "Cabbage" Roll Filling Ingredients
- 1 tsp coconut oil or olive oil
- 1 onion, cut into quarters
- 2 carrots, cut into 4
- 2 celery stalks, cut into 4
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup hemp seeds
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup cooked brown rice
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 bunches kale, stems removed (for wrapping)
Preparation
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Tomato Sauce
- Melt oil in a saucepan. Sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and sauté 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add a splash of wine and cook until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add both kinds of tomatoes. Simmer 30 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Set aside.
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Filling Preparation
- In a food processor, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Process to a coarse consistency.
- In a large sauté pan, melt oil. Add vegetable mixture. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until tender.
- In the food processor, add hemp, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds. Process to a coarse consistency.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked vegetable mixture, seed mixture, brown rice, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Mix. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
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Assembly
- Preheat oven to 375 ° F.
- Cut all the kale leaves in half lengthwise, and then in half widthwise. You should have a rectangle about 4-inches by 2 or 3 inches. (It does not need to be exact and they do not all need to be the same size.) Keep any kale scraps.
- In a rectangle cake pan or casserole dish, pour 1/3 of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan.
- Take 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling and line the bottom of each kale rectangle with it. Roll into a kale tube.
- Place each roll on the tomato sauce in the pan. Line the whole pan with rolls, making a second layer of rolls if needed.
- Chop any kale scraps up into bite size pieces and layer them on top of the vegan kale rolls.
- Pour the rest of the tomato sauce on the kale rolls, spreading it around to cover everything.
- Bake for 1 hour. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.