Stuffed Cabbage Rolls: A Taste of Tradition

Before I met my husband, I had never experienced the pleasure of enjoying Polish cuisine. I grew up in a Jewish household and enjoyed many traditional dishes like gefilte fish, kugel, matzoh ball soup and brisket, just to name a few. So, the first time I met Mike’s extended family and was treated to pierogi, stuffed cabbage rolls (golabki), kielbasa sausage and cucumber salad, I was hooked.

Throughout our years together, we have embraced the cuisine of his ancestors and have made a point to consistently include Polish food in our lives. Sometimes we make the food from scratch and other times we have an extended family meet-up at The Red Apple, a fantastic Polish restaurant on Milwaukee Ave.  

One of my favorite Polish dishes that I have been craving lately are stuffed cabbage rolls. The Polish name for these rolls is Golabki, pronounced gowumpki,… hearty beef and rice filled cabbage dumplings. They get slowly braised and then topped with a sweet and sour tomato sauce. Because I was craving them and had never made them from scratch, we set out on a culinary adventure in our own kitchen.

It's not difficult to make stuffed cabbage rolls, but it does take some time. Here are the components to making them:

The Cabbage

Any variety of green cabbage will do for this recipe, but we went with savoy cabbage because the leaves are a bit looser and easier to work with. The leaves are also just the right shape and size for this application.

In order to make the leaves pliable for easy separation and prevent them from tearing during assembly, you have two different options. The first option is to soften the head of cabbage by placing it in a pot of salted, boiling water. Cook the cabbage until the leaves are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the cabbage to a plate and allow to cool.

The second option is the freeze the whole head of cabbage. Once frozen, place it on your countertop and allow it to defrost. Then you can remove the core and separate the leaves. The cabbage will need several hours to defrost, so plan accordingly and do this step a day or two in advance. We thought about removing the cabbage ribs, but we left them on for two reasons: They were tender enough to eat and were pliable enough to roll up, so we left them on.  

The Filling

This consists of sautéed onions, garlic, cooked rice, ground beef (some people also like to include ground pork) and fresh thyme. You can get creative and modify the filling ingredients to your liking, such as using cooked quinoa and ground turkey for a healthier version. Have fun experimenting with the use of different herbs and spices in your filling, too! Most recipes I researched online were pretty straightforward, but adding some paprika and dill would be delicious!

The Tomato Sauce

In order to streamline the process, we used jarred tomato sauce and thinned it out with a bit of water. We also added a splash of apple cider vinegar (red wine vinegar would also work) and a spoonful of brown sugar for that sweet and sour taste.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe

Yield: 8 rolls; 4-6 servings

Active time: 1 hour

Start to finish: 1 day, 3 hours (includes cabbage freezing and defrosting time)

1 head savoy cabbage

1 cup long-grain rice

1 1/2 cups water

Pinch of salt

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 onion, medium dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

12 ounces ground beef

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, rough chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup chicken or beef stock

1 1/2 cups jarred tomato sauce

1/3 cup water

1 to 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 to 2 tablespoons brown sugar

1. Place the whole head of cabbage in the freezer, and freeze until frozen solid. Remove from the freezer, and allow to completely defrost on your countertop, about 6 hours. Once defrosted, cut the core out of the cabbage. Note: This step can be done a day or two in advance.

2. Preheat the oven to 350° and have ready a medium-size baking dish.

3. In a saucepan, measure together the rice and water, and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and spread out on a sheet tray. Allow to cool.

4. While the rice is cooling, sauté the onions and garlic. Heat a small sauté pan over medium heat, and add the butter. Gently sauté the onions, stirring occasionally, until tender and with some light browning around the edges.

5. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute or until aromatic. Set aside to cool.

6. To make the filling, mix together the cooked and cooled rice, sautéed onion-garlic mixture, ground beef and thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Tip: To test the seasoning, fry up a small patty of the filling mixture in a pan until the beef is cooked through. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

7. To assemble the rolls, gently peel off 8 outer leaves and place them on your work surface so the cabbage ribs run from top to bottom. Peel off 3 or 4 additional leaves to line the bottom of your baking dish.

8. Lay the 8 leaves on your work surface and using a portion scoop, equally divide the filling between the leaves, just below the center line.

9. Roll the end of the leaf that’s closest to you over the filling, and then fold in the sides. Continue rolling to seal up the filling.

10. Place the rolls in your prepared baking dish, and pour in the stock.

11. Cover with foil, and bake the rolls for 1 1/2 hours.

12. While the rolls are baking, prepare the tomato sauce. In a medium-size bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, vinegar and brown sugar, adjusting with more vinegar and/or sugar to your liking.

13. Remove the foil, spoon the tomato sauce over each roll, and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes.

14. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

We were beyond happy with the final result, and to turn it into a complete Polish feast, we made homemade pierogi to serve along with the rolls. Half of them were filled with a potato-cheese mixture and the other half were filled with sautéed mushrooms and sauerkraut. We rounded out the plate with a refreshing cucumber and dill salad for a nice, cool and crunchy component.

It’s really fun for us to keep these dishes alive and well not only because they are delicious, but so our kids can carry on the tradition to the next generation.

Come learn how to make an assortment of worldly dumplings in Dumplings Around the World on Tuesday, April 16 at 6pm and Wednesday, May 8 at 6pm.

And embrace the culinary traditions of Europe and join us on the Basque Culinary Immersion tour this fall!