Recipe: Mom's Halushka Goes Vegan

Halushka is an example of a non-vegan recipe that had emotional ties to me. The flavors and textures with this dish, which was cooked often by my mother, were always comforting – the sweet, tender noodles; the wilted cabbage; the salt and garlic flavors over the pan-fried protein. 

I remember how proud my mom was to serve this dish to her family as well as neighbors and at potlucks. It was always well-received. Well, I definitely don’t miss the animal protein, but that’s easily remedied with Viana’s Smoked Veggie Frankfurters. My vegan dish that was inspired by my mom’s Halushka recipe achieves everything that the original does without the Kielbasa.  

My mom’s recipe was very garlic heavy, which I loved, so don’t be surprised with how much garlic is in this recipe.

Ingredients:

¼ c. of vegan buttery spread

1 onion sliced thinly

4-5 cloves of garlic sliced thinly

1/4 c of garlic powder, divided

4 links of Viana’s Smoked Veggie Frankfurters sliced into discs

One small or medium head of cabbage shredded

2 servings of cooked thick noodles (I used brown rice fettuccine-style noodles that I had in the pantry)

Salt, as needed

Optional ingredients that are not in my mom's original recipe: red chili flakes, chopped kale

Directions:

Cook the noodles according to the directions and set aside. Melt the buttery spread in a large pot, and add the sliced onions. Sautee for 5 minutes over medium heat and then add the sliced garlic, 2 T of garlic powder, and the sliced frankfurters. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the shredded cabbage and put a lid on the pot to help wilt the cabbage. You can lower the heat a little while you wait. Once you’re able to stir the mixture easily and the cabbage is nearly wilted (5-10 minutes), stir in the cooked pasta. Taste and add salt to your liking. I added the other 2 T of garlic powder at this point. Continue to stir the mixture so the noodles get incorporated throughout. Remove the pot from heat. 

You can leave the dish as-is, or you can add red chili flakes and/or one bunch of chopped kale. You can either incorporate the kale into the hot mixture in a separate large bowl or place the chopped kale on top of the hot mixture and put a lid on the pot. After several minutes, the steam and heat from the cooked food will make the kale easier to incorporate into the mixture. 

Viana's Smoked Veggie Frankfurters have a smooth consistency and a smoky, salami-like flavor.

I see stinky garlic breath in my future.

The perfect bite: a little kale, cabbage, noodle, and smoked sausage. I think my mom would be proud. Now I have a version of the recipe I can pass on to my son.