Gołąbki - Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Servings: 8 servings (16 cabbage rolls)
Ingredients
for the stuffed cabbage:
- 1 large head cabbage
- 2 lbs ground pork and beef 900g (in total)
- 1 cup uncooked rice 200g
- 2 tablespoons frying oil
- 2 medium onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup beef broth
for the tomato sauce:
- 1/4 cup butter 60g
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups tomato passata tomato puree
- 2 cups chicken broth leftover from cooking gołąbki
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare the cabbage:
- Core the cabbage: using a pairing knife, cut out the core of the cabbage, about 1 1/2-2 inches (4-5cm) deep. Make sure to cut it out wide enough so that the leaves are not attached to the core.
- Cook the cabbage: In a large pot, bring a large amount of water to a boil (enough to cover the cabbage). Add the cabbage, core-side down, cook for 10 minutes, then turn it over (it should be core-side up now) and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Peel the leaves off one by one using tongs while the cabbage is still in water, stack the leaves on a plate. Grab the cabbage with tongs by the stem, trying to not damage the leaves. The point here is not to cook the cabbage but to separate the leaves and soften them. They should not be completely soft (fully cooked) but only pliable. If the leaves are not separating try to separate them from the core with a knife (if you've cut out too little). If your cabbage leaves are still not soft enough to be easily pliable you can add them to the pot and cook them a little bit longer. Don't overcook the cabbage or the leaves will tear.
- You will need about 16 leaves.
- Alternatively: you can core the cabbage, wrap it in plastic foil then freeze it whole. After it has been thawed you can peel the leaves easily and use them right away. It will take overnight to freeze it then overnight + a couple of hours on the counter to thaw it.
Prepare the meat-rice filling:
- Cook the rice until almost cooked - about 1-2 minutes shorter than the usual cooking time. Drain.
- Cut the onions into cubes, press the garlic through a garlic press. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onions, cook for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and spices, cook, stirring, for 20-30 seconds. Add into a large bowl.
- Add the meat and cooked rice, season with salt and pepper (I added about 1 1/3 Tbsp of fine sea salt and 1 ts of ground black pepper but I prefer that you add them to your taste). Stir until the mixture is combined.
Stuff cabbage leaves:
- Cut out the thick part of the core.
- Place some of the filling in the middle of each leaf.
- Fold the right and left part of the leaf to the center.
- Roll up starting from the end facing towards you. Try to roll up the leaves tightly.
Bake stuffed cabbage rolls in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Place a couple of cabbage leaves in a 9x13-inch casserole dish (22x32xm). Place the golabki seam side-down in the dish.
- Pour in hot broth.
- Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil then bake for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for 15-30 minutes or until the cabbage is soft and the meat cooked through (take out 1 roll and cut it in half to check). Keep an eye on them if they're not browning too much - if they are - you can cover them with aluminum foil. The baking time will depend on the cabbage, if they're not done, just bake them a little bit longer.
- Transfer the cabbage rolls to a plate, reserve the broth! Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer.
OR cook them on the stovetop:
- Pour a couple of tablespoons of broth into a large pot. Place a couple of cabbage leaves at the bottom (you can use damaged leaves for that).
- Place stuffed cabbage rolls seam side-down in the pot. They should be very close to each other. Stack them in two layers. I'm putting the remaining cabbage between the rolls in the second layer so they are layered out more tightly.
- Pour in the HOT broth - there should be enough broth to cover the rolls. Cover the pot with a lid. Cook the cabbage rolls over low heat, they should be only simmering, for about 1 hour or until the cabbage is soft and the meat is cooked through (take out one cabbage roll and cut it in half to see if it's done).
- Transfer the cabbage rolls to a plate, reserve the broth! Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer.
Make the tomato sauce:
- Add butter into a medium pot, cook until it's melted.
- Add the flour, whisk until combined then cook for a minute until the mixture is just lightly browned and smells nutty (whisk it constantly).
- Add the broth, tomato passata, and basil.
- Cook over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thickened.
- Whisk in the cream then season with salt and pepper.
- Serve gołąbki with the tomato sauce.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If the meat is not cooked through/golabki are tough/cabbage is not soft - this just means that the golabki were not cooked long enough.
- You can also use savoy cabbage instead of white cabbage. You can peel off the leaves without boiling the cabbage then cook the leaves for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Many people prefer golabki made with savoy cabbage but we like them with white cabbage more.
- You can also use young cabbage for this recipe. It's much softer than winter cabbage so cook it for 8 minutes in total when making the leaves pliable then cook the cabbage rolls for about 30 minutes instead of an hour.
- You could also add roughly chopped sauteed mushrooms to the filling - it's super delicious, or add crumbled bacon pieces to the filling or wrap each cabbage roll in bacon slices.
- Storage and freezing instructions - Gołąbki keep and freeze very well!
Storage: you can keep them for up to 3-4 days in the fridge, in an airtight container. I'm storing the cabbage rolls and the sauce separately but you can also store them together.
Freezing: you can freeze stuffed cabbage rolls for up to 3-4 months.
How to freeze: I'm freezing them wrapped in plastic foil (spaced out). I'm freezing the sauce separately.
To thaw:
- Thaw them in the fridge overnight them warm up in the oven (put them in a cold oven and set it to 350°F/180°C, bake for 15-20 minutes or until warm, warm up the sauce separately in a pot).
- Bake them straight from the freezer - put them in a cold oven then set it to 325°F/160°C and bake for about 40-50 minutes until thawed and warm. - Calories = 1 serving (2 cabbage rolls with sauce). This is only an estimate!
Nutrition
Calories: 521kcal