So many St. Paddy’s recipes are centered around animal products. If you like cabbage and the seasoning used in corned dishes, this is a good option.  This will take a couple hours to make but the smell in the house while it’s cooking is so worth it.  Also, the presentation is pretty cool too.

Notes:
*I have made it with ground round and pecans. Both were good but I preferred the ground. Hubby preferred the pecans, which is amusing because he is usually not a fan of pecans. I think crumbled tempeh would also work really well.

*If you want to say time you could use all the ingredients and layer in a casserole dish. If I did it this way I think I would keep the potatoes separate from the corned mix and layer cabbage, carrots, potatoes, corned mix and then gravy. Repeat. It would mean making gravy before putting in oven.

Serves 6

Stuffed Cabbage

1 1/2 lb cabbage cored
2.5 lbs red potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup vegan butter
1 tsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5 carrots coarsely chopped
12 oz Yves meatless ground or 12 oz raw pecans made into crumbs
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup water
1 bay leaf
1 medium yellow onion diced
In pot large enough for cabbage head to fit, boil water.  When it comes to a rapid boil put in cabbage head core down, cover and remove from heat.  Let sit for 5 minutes.  Drain and let cabbage cool.

Boil potatoes for 15 minutes until soft enough to mash.  Drain reserving 2 cups potato water.  Mash potatoes adding butter, nutritional yeast, nutmeg and enough of potato water to make creamy.

While cooking potatoes, steam carrots for same amount of time. I steamed mine over the cooking potatoes.

While potatoes are boiling heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat to make corned mix.  Add ingredients from mustard to bay leaf.  Add meatless ground or pecans.  Cook until boiling.  Remove from heat.  Strain mix reserving liquid.  Keep bay leaf with liquid.

In liquid from mix, saute onion over low/medium heat until onion is translucent.  With a slotted spoon add onion to corned mix leaving liquid in pan. Turn off heat from liquid.  While cabbage is baking you will want to make gravy out of liquid.  Again keep bay leaf with liquid.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On bottom rack of oven put a pan full of water to help create steam in the oven.

Mix mashed potatoes, corned mix, and onions together.  Carefully separate cabbage leaves, leaving the center part intact to use as your base.

Choose a pan or pot that is oven safe that the cabbage will fit tightly in. I used a pyrex pie dish. Place an 18″ long piece of parchment paper centered over the dish

Place the core section with the core up.  Fill the center with potato mixture.  Then leaf by leaf starting with the smallest inner leaves put a generous amount of the potato mixture on the bottom of a leaf and press it up against the core continuing until you have rebuilt the cabbage.  If there is extra potato mixture place on top.  Push the carrots in around the cabbage. Place extra carrots on the outside between the cabbage and paper. Pull the parchment paper together tightly and fold it over.  The tighter the fit the better.  Leave the parchment paper semi loose on top.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Pull paper away from top and cook 5 more minutes.

If any of the leave tips brown gently tear them off.  With the ends of the paper pull the cabbage out of dish and put on a serving platter. Carefully remove the paper.   With large spoon remove a few leaves and serve with gravy.

Gravy
Reserved liquid
1 tbsp vegan butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups potato water
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar

Over med/low heat add butter to reserve liquid. Once melted,  slowly whisk in flour. Cook five minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Whisk in water, vinegar, and brown sugar.  Bring to slight boil and turn heat to low.  Continue to cook on low while cabbage is cooking stirring occasionally.