Irish Corned Cabbage

Everyday Vegan Eats author Zsu Dever started making this dish as Corned Seitan, the cabbage being a mere afterthought. By the second or third time she cooked it, however, she noticed that the vegetables were more enjoyable than the seitan. Over the years, the seitan was left by the wayside and the vegetables took on the starring role. She added green beans to increase the nutrition, but you could omit it and add a side of kidney beans or black beans to the meal.

Irish Corned Cabbage

Gluten-Free • Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium tamari
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 3 tablespoons pickling spice (see note below)
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
• 4 medium beets, peeled and quartered
• 4 small to medium waxy potatoes, halved
• 3 carrots, cut into thirds
• 8 small onions or shallots, peeled but left whole
• 1 medium head savoy or green cabbage, cut into 8 wedges through the root
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons drained prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon natural sugar

Preparation

1. Combine the water, tamari, garlic, brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and paprika in a large saucepan. Wrap the pickling spice, red pepper flakes, and thyme in a small muslin bag or in several layers of cheesecloth. This will make the removal of all the seeds and spices easy. Add the spice bag to the broth and bring to a boil.
2. Arrange the beets and potatoes on the bottom of the saucepan, making sure the spice bag is submerged in the broth. Arrange the carrots, onions, and cabbage on top of the potatoes and beets. Cover the pot and bring to a boil again, then reduce to a strong simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Uncover, arrange the green beans on top of the cabbage, cover again, and cook until the beans are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, horseradish, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar.
5. To serve, place the vegetables on a plate and top with the horseradish sauce and a few tablespoons of the cooking broth.

Pickling Spice: The best pickling spice is one that includes coriander seeds, cloves, mustard seeds, bay leaves, dill seeds, and allspice. If you want to make a homemade version, combine 2 tablespoons mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon whole allspice berries, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, 2 teaspoons dried dill seed, 6 whole cloves, 2 broken cinnamon sticks, and 2 crushed bay leaves in an airtight container.

From Everyday Vegan Eats by Zsu Dever. ©2014 Zsu Dever. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press.