Meat Free Mondays- Cabbage Leaf Parcels

For our first Meat Free Mondays recipe we have a really delicious and versatile meal that is great for lunch or for an evening meal.

This recipe is from Miguel Barclay's vegan cookbook 'Vegan One Pound Meals'. I have been really enjoying this cook book recently, all of his meals are quick and don't cost a fortune to make especially as there isn't any exotic or hard to find ingredients. 

All the recipes in this book are for a 1 person serving but if your doing it for more people simply multiple the ingredients by how many people your making it for.

The idea and the principles behind the 'One Pound Meals' are Barclay's style of cooking. He says in the book 'My One Pound Meals style of cooking has always been focused on simple techniques with plenty of easy shortcuts, using ingredients that your already comfortable buying and preparing. I want to help you save money by inspiring you to cook from scratch and give you confidence through the recipes I create'.

Cabbage Leaf Parcels:

1 portion

Ingredients:

• 3 Savoy Cabbage Leaves
• 1/2 Mug Of Brown Rice
• 1 Mug Of Water (I doubled this)
• 1/2 Vegetable Stock Cube
• 1/2 Onion, Sliced
• A Few Mushrooms, Sliced
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Optional Extras:

• Toasted Sesame Oil
• 1 Garlic Clove, finely chopped

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 190C/gas mark 5
2. Soften the cabbage leaves in a heatproof bowl of just boiled water for 10 minuets
3. Meanwhile, put the rice and water in a saucepan. Crumble in the stock cube and cook over medium heat with the lid on for about 10 minuets, until all the water has been absorbed. Stir occasionally. Turn off the heat, remove the lid and fluff up the rice with a fork
4. While the rice is cooking, season and pan fry the onion (add the garlic here if using) in a splash of olive oil over a medium heat for a few minuets until soft, (At this point I like to season the onions with some salt and pepper). Then add the mushrooms and fry for another 5 minuets until soft and nicely browned
5. Drain the cabbage leaves. Mix the rice with the onion and mushrooms then put a third of the mixture into each cabbage leaf before wrapping the leaves around the filling. Place them in a overproof dish, wrapped side down, drizzle with olive oil (I used toasted sesame oil to add more flavor and depth to the dish) and season with salt and pepper
6. Bake in the oven for about 15 minuets or till slightly brown. Remove from the oven and serve.

These are great on their own, with a salad, vegetables or a side of your choice.

This recipe is very versatile, you can add anything you would like to the rice mixture. Its great when your needing to use up any old vegetables before they go off.

If this is something you try please tag @thoughtfulwaysuk on instagram and use the #twmeatfreemondays

1st Image: Review: Miguel Barclay’s Vegan £1 Meals Cookbook - AAUBlog

Quotations: Miguel Barclay's Vegan One Pound Meals Cookbook

Ingredients/method: Miguel Barclay's Vegan One Pound Meals Cookbook

2nd image: Miguel Barclay's Vegan One Pound Meals Cookbook