This Ukrainian braised cabbage recipe is a vegan cabbage recipe made with carrots, onions, olive oil, tomato paste and salt. Very tender braised cabbage will be great as a side dish on your plate or as a filling for pierogies and pies.
Wash the cabbage and remove outer leaves. Cut it in 4 wedges and shred it thinly. Grate the carrots on the medium shred of the box grater. Dice the onion finely.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a big frying pan. Add onions and cook them for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the carrots and cook together another 3-5 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix 4 tablespoons of water, 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, ½ teaspoons of sugar and half of the salt. Add the mix to the pan and mix well with carrots and onions.
Start adding cabbage gradually, one handful at a time by letting it settle down. Cabbage will shrink a lot as you cook it. Once all cabbage added, cover the pan with the lid and cook covered for about 5 minutes over low-medium heat stirring every minute to prevent cabbage from burning.
Add hot boiling water and bay leaf to the pan. Cover and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes stirring it every 3-5 minutes until the cabbage is soft. If you prefer your cabbage "al dente" with the little crunch it will take only 20 min. Softer cabbage is ideal for pies or dumplings, while crunchier is great as a side dish. Enjoy!