Traditional Romanian stewed cabbage (Vegan and Gluten Free)

It's interesting for me to even consider making a dish like stewed cabbage. As I grew up in Romania, I can say that stewed cabbage plays an integral part of the traditional cuisine. This is not true just for the countryside, but this dish is well known, easy to make and very loved in all corners in the country. Whether you live in the countryside or in the heart of the city, as a Romanian, you will know what stewed cabbage is. In fact, I bet that for many Romanians stewed cabbage is a nostalgic childhood dish, usually served with smoked sausage, red onion and white crusty bread. Cheap, reliable, easy to make and highly nutritious, you can see why this made it to the list of traditional Romanian dishes.

Some people like to add smoked meats to the stewed cabbage recipe, whereas others prefer the vegan, authentic way of making this dish: free from gluten, meat or any dairy.

So, what makes this dish so special? How to make stewed cabbage and why I'm only just rediscovering the roots of traditional Romanian recipes.

A Traditional Romanian Dish

Cabbage plays an important role in Romanian cuisine. We use it for stewing, for pickling, and for our famed rolled cabbage dish (recipe to follow shortly). Cabbage is cheap and full of vitamins and nutrients. In fact, we know that cabbage is used for home remedies and sometimes even used as a tea. The juice from pickled cabbage is known to be very healthy and used even in countries like Germany and sometimes bought as a souvenir.

Traditionally, stewed cabbage is a vegan dish made with very basic ingredients. Nutritious and cheap, stewed cabbage it's a perfect recipe to stay healthy and save money. It's also incredibly quick and easy to make. All you need is a sharp knife and a deep pan with a cover on it. When put on the hob, the cabbage leaves its own juices in the pan, which means you don't need to add any water to it. The taste is sweet and delicious and the dish itself is very filling.

The more modern version of the stewed cabbage contains what in Romania we called "smoked items". This is usually smoked rib or smoked sausage. This meat is usually cut into tiny cubes and added to the cabbage during the stewing process so the dish becomes more flavoursome with a smokey taste.

As Yuzu Bakes is a vegan recipe blog, we are going to focus on the authentic way of making stewed cabbage: with no meat or dairy, but the wholefood version which contains only cabbage, a bell pepper, an onion, a tomato and some tomato paste. For those who love a vegan dish with a modern twist, I added a special ingredient to the list so you can enjoy a deeper flavour: liquid smoke.

Stewed Cabbage Recipe

I love making stewed cabbage because it's quick and easy and you literally don't require any special cooking skills. While I'm well versed in Western European dishes, I always had difficulties making traditional Romanian foods. It's a little insult to my heritage, I know. But, I left when I was just a teenager and moved to Britain to study. So while I grew up eating Romanian food which my family made with love, I never really went through the "making traditional dishes" transition period. As a student, I started making Western dishes right away and had a more Western diet. As time passed, I never quite missed Romanian food so didn't learn how to make them nor tried to add them as part of my diet.

But as time passed and the older I got some sort of interesting curiosity sparked. I believe this also ties in with the idea that the Western diet is not known to be the healthiest, especially as almost everything is ready-made, microwavable or processed food. So the moment I transitioned into veganism and then wholefoods, my interest went back to the type of dishes you can cook using whole ingredients. This is when I realised that a lot of traditional Romanian food and Eastern European food in general, celebrates vegetables and whole ingredients. Stewed cabbage is a good example of a simple ingredient transformed into a delicious dish full of vitamins.

While nowadays a lot of Eastern European dishes appear to be meat-heavy, this wasn't always the case. In fact, back in the days, meat was a scarce resource and people used it as such: shavings of meat in the stews, chicken bones to intensify the flavour of the soup and so on. If you go back to the roots and find out the real way traditional recipes were, you'll find that meat was rarely part of them, and it was most certainly never the star attraction of any authentic dish.

To make stewed cabbage, all you need to know is the secret: keep the cabbage covered at all times, mix it with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes or so to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan, and don't add any water to it. The cabbage will cook in its own juices.

Now that you know the secret, I believe you are ready to make the coolest stewed cabbage recipe and enjoy it times and times again.

Tip: want to be Romanian about it? Eat the stewed cabbage with raw red onion and white crusty bread on the site. That's the traditional way of eating this delicious, vegan recipe.

This recipe has been developed entirely by Yuzu Bakes. Any resemblance with other recipes is purely coincidental.

Romanian Vegan Stewed Cabbage

5

Average: 5 (4 votes)

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total: 1 hour
• Serves 4 people

Categories: Appetizer, Dinner Cusine: East European

Description

A traditional and authentic Romanian stewed cabbage recipe which is vegan and gluten-free. This quick and easy stewed cabbage recipe can be served as a main dish with bread and onion on the side, or as a side dish if preferred.

Ingredients

(USA / Metric)

• 1 head cabbage
• 1 large bell pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch peppercorn
• 1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp paprika (optional)

Instructions

• 1. Heat up a little olive oil in a deep, non-stick pan. Add the onion and fry it until translucent. Add the bell pepper and garlic and fry for another minute or so. Now add the chopped tomato, mix with a wooden spoon and leave it to fry for another 2-3 minutes. Now add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, paprika and liquid smoke if using. Mix well and fry for 2-3 minutes. If you feel there is too little oil, add half a cup of water to the mixture.
  2. Chop the cabbage (not very fine) and add it to the deep pan. If there is too much cabbage for the pan, add a few handfuls of cabbage at the time and let it reduce in size for a few minutes, then add the rest of the cabbage to the pan. Repeat until the whole sliced cabbage fits in the pan.
  3. This is the most important step to a successful stewed cabbage: once all the cabbage is in the pan, mix all ingredients, cover and simmer at low fire for 30-45 minutes. Make sure to mix it with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes or so. Put the cover back as soon as you finish mixing as this is what makes the cabbage stew nicely.
     Do not add more water!
  4. Serve hot with bread and red onion if you like it the traditional way, or serve it as a side dish. The cabbage lasts for up to 5 days in the fridge. Keep it covered in an airtight container as the cabbage tends to smell up your fridge.

Nutritional Information

Total Nutrition Facts

Serves 4 people

Amount Per Serving
Calories 199
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11 g			14%
	Saturated Fat 1 g		7%
	Trans Fat 0 g		0%
	Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat 7 g
Cholesterol 0 mg			0%
Sodium 74 mg			3%
Total Carbs 26 g			9%
	Dietary Fiber 8 g		27%
	Sugar 13 g		26%
Protein 5 g			11%
Vitamin A 7% Vitamin C 185% Calcium 13% Iron 7% Vitamin D 0% Magnesium 15% Potassium 19% Zinc 8% Phosphorus 20% Thiamin (B1) 22% Riboflavin (B2) 13% Niacin (B3) 9% Vitamin B6 38% Folic Acid (B9) 0% Vitamin B12 0% Vitamin E 19% Vitamin K 295%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @yuzubakes on Instagram and hashtag it #yuzubakes