polish cabbage rolls

Classic Gołąbki: Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Tomato Sauce (Pork & Rice)

white cabbage (3-3.3 lb, 1.3-1.5 kg) or savoy cabbage

1.7 lb (800 g) ground pork (e.g. pork shoulder)

onion (7 oz, 200 g), yellow or white

tbsp neutral oil, e.g. canola

garlic

rice rice

marjoram

qt (1 litre) chicken stock

black pepper, to season

dill

⅓ stick (30 g) butter

tbsp all-purpose flour

stock stock

(500 g) tomato passata / purée

tomato paste / concentrate

sugar

Wash the cabbage under running water. Even though...

Wash the cabbage under running water. Even though the inside is usually clean (the outer leaves protect the inside), you might want to clean it anyway. Remove the tough outer leaves and discard them. Separate the inner leaves and wash them under running water.

Cut out the stalk from the head. 

Grab a large cooking pot, large enough for...

Grab a large cooking pot, large enough for the whole cabbage head to fit. Pour water in and bring it to boil. Add a solid pinch of salt and sugar and stir.

Blanch the cabbage head in the boiling water,...

Blanch the cabbage head in the boiling water, core side down. After a few minutes (2-3), the leaves should peel off easily. If not - cook it for a few more minutes.

Remove cabbage to a baking tray, but keep...

Remove cabbage to a baking tray, but keep the water in the pot.

(Optional) To keep a more vibrant colour, you...

(Optional) To keep a more vibrant colour, you can place the leaves into ice water - that will slow down the cooking process.

Set ten best leaves (largest, unbroken) aside. Using...

Set ten best leaves (largest, unbroken) aside. Using a paring knife, cut the main ‘vein’ out from each cabbage leaf and trim from the bottom with a knife.

Peel an onion and dice it finely. Finely...

Peel an onion and dice it finely. Finely chop the garlic with a knife. 

Heat up a tablespoon or two of oil,...

Heat up a tablespoon or two of oil, add in chopped onion. When it turns golden, add chopped garlic and fry for another 1-2 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the ground meat,...

In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, cooked rice, a tablespoon marjoram, and cooled down onion/garlic.

Season with salt and pepper, mix thoroughly -...

Season with salt and pepper, mix thoroughly - no special tools are necessary, you can use your hands. This mass will be our stuffing.

Lay the cabbage leaf flat. Place about ¼-⅓ ...

Lay the cabbage leaf flat. Place about ¼-⅓  cup of meat mixture in the centre of a cabbage leaf. Gather the edges of the cabbage inwards and roll it tightly. Continue until you have 10 decent-sized rolls.

Line the bottom of the large cooking pot...

Line the bottom of the large cooking pot with some of the remaining pre-cooked leaves - this prevents the dish from burning.

Place the cabbage rolls in the pot, in...

Place the cabbage rolls in the pot, in layers, one on top of another. Cover with a layer of remaining leaves. 

Pour the stock in. Cook on a medium...

Pour the stock in. Cook on a medium heat, covered for about 40-50 minutes until the cabbage is tender. Not every cabbage is the same, you’ll have to check how soft it is as you go.

When the cabbage rolls are nearly done, let’s...

When the cabbage rolls are nearly done, let’s make the tomato sauce.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. When melted,...

Melt the butter in a saucepan. When melted, add in the flour. Whisk together and cook for a bit until it gains some colour.

Pour in around a cup (250 ml) of...

Pour in around a cup (250 ml) of the stock that got made from cooking the cabbage rolls. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. 

Pour in 2 cups of tomato passata/purée and...

Pour in 2 cups of tomato passata/purée and add a tablespoon of tomato paste. Bring to a boil yet again, then reduce the heat to a minimum. 

Season with salt and ground pepper. If the...

Season with salt and ground pepper. If the tomatoes are too acidic, add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavours. 

Continue cooking until you reach a desired thickness.

Serve cooked cabbage rolls, with tomato sauce on...

Serve cooked cabbage rolls, with tomato sauce on top or on the side.

Garnish with some freshly chopped dill or parsley...

Garnish with some freshly chopped dill or parsley leaves.

The best Polish Cabbage Rolls made with ground beef, rice and tomato soup. These classic homemade rolls are my family&#039;s favorite! Includes directions on how to easily blanch cabbage leaves to prevent tearing.

Polish Cabbage Rolls (baked in the oven)

cabbage

water

white rice

tomato soup

brown sugar

Worcestershire sauce

beef

onion (finely chopped)

egg (beaten)

salt

black pepper

Using a knife, carefully cut out the core out of the cabbage.   Add cabbage (without core now) to a large pot of salted water.  Bring to a boil, and cook for 12-14 minutes, or until leaves gently peel off the head of cabbage.    Remove 8 leaves for the rolls, and multiple other leaves for the bottom and top of the baking dish.

Using leftover cabbages leaves, cover the bottom of a 11x8 baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add water to a medium-sized saucepan, bring to a boil.  Add rice, stir, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix 2 cans of tomato soup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce together.

In a large bowl add ground beef, cooked rice, chopped onion, egg, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup of tomato soup mixture.   Mix to fully combine.

Place 8 cabbage leaves out on a clean surface.  Add ground beef mixture into the middle of each one, using all the ground beef mixture until it&#39;s gone.  Roll them up and place a toothpick into each one to hold together.   Place rolls into the baking dish on top of cabbage leaves.

Pour remaining tomato soup mixture on top of the cabbage rolls.  Cover with a few extra cabbage leaves on top.  Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 90 minutes, or until ground beef is fully cooked.  Serve and enjoy!

No summer cookout is complete without a tray of stuffed cabbages! Tender cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, seasoned ground meats and a rich tomato sauce make this the perfect summer comfort food. Plus these freeze beautifully!

Mom's Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

cabbage (about 3-5 pounds)

pork

onion,

parsley flakes

eggs

ketchup

tomato paste

cooked, cooled white rice

tomato

Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head in a large pot filled with boiling, salted water. Cover and cook 3 minutes, or until softened enough to pull off individual leaves. If the leaves do not pull off easily, return the cabbage to the pot to boil a minute or two more. When the leaves are cool enough, use a paring knife to shave away the thick center stem from each leaf, without cutting all the way through.

Prepare the cabbage

In a large bowl, add the ground beef, pork, rice, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, eggs, ketchup, tomato paste, and parsley. Mix gently to combine. Add in 2/3rd of a can of tomato soup (almost 3/4 of a cup) and mix.

Make the meat mixture

To stuff the leaves lay down a single large leaf with the cut edge facing you (where the stem was) and place about a 1/2 cup of the meat mixture in the lower third of the leave. If the leaf is huge add more, if smaller add less meat. Fold the sides of the leaf over the meat and roll the cabbage up (like rolling a burrito). Repeat until all of the leaves are stuffed. If you have extra meat just roll it up as meatballs and place it in the baking pan with the stuffed cabbage.

Assemble the cabbage rolls

Preheat oven to 350F, rack in the center.

In a large deep dish (4” at least) baking pan (or two 9&#215;13” glass pans), spread out the remaining soup from the open can on the bottom of the pan. Open up a 2nd can pour out 1/2 of it and spread it out until the bottom of the pan is covered in a light coating.

Place a single layer of stuffed cabbages on the bottom of your pan. Add the remaining half of the 2nd can of tomato soup. If you have leaves that are too small to stuff or are badly torn, add them on top of the soup.

Add the 2nd layer of stuffed cabbage (you must make sure you have a 1/2” gap at the top of your pan and stuffed cabbage. It cannot go over the top of the pan. Top with the remaining can of tomato soup and spread out evenly.

Spray the underneath of a large piece of foil. Place foil side down on the pan and close tightly around the dish. Place the pan on a larger cookie sheet to catch any spillovers.

Bake for 3 – 4 hours or until the cabbage is tender when pierced with a knife. (I start to check mine after 2 hours 45 minutes).

Remove from the oven, uncover, and allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Prepare to bake

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1593129660/fh0hixdpp8xask9x6kcl.mp4

No summer cookout is complete without a tray of stuffed cabbages! Tender cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, seasoned ground meats, and a rich tomato sauce make this the perfect summer comfort food. Plus these freeze beautifully!

Mom’s Classic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

These delicious Polish-style stuffed cabbage rolls combine tender cabbage leaves filled with rice, ground beef, and sausage, and braised in a tangy sauce until tender.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

unsalted butter

onion (finely diced)

(454) bulk Italian sausage

(454 grams) ground chuck

Italian parsley

oregano

paprika

(227 grams) cooked long grain rice

fine sea salt

(~1L) water

(13 grams) brown sugar

(30 milliliters) cider vinegar

salt and pepper (to taste)

(42 grams) unsalted butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F and set the rack to the middle level.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and once boiling add the cabbage, turning it every few minutes.  Cook until soft (about 10 minutes) then gently place the cabbage into a colander to drain.  Once it is cool enough to handle, gently separate 16 leaves.  If the leaves are still too hard add the cabbage back to the pot of water for a few more minutes.

Heat a frying pan to medium heat with the butter and onions.  Add a pinch of salt and cook the onions until very soft and slightly caramelized (about 12-15 minutes).

Add the onions to a large bowl along with the rice, bulk sausage, ground beef, oregano, pepper, salt, paprika, parsley, and egg.  Mix well to combine.

Place a cabbage leaf onto a cutting board and flatten it out. With a paring knife, cut the thick rib out by making a slight v-cut approximately 1 to 2 inches down the leaf.  If needed, see the process photos above.  Repeat for remaining pieces.

Using a large scoop add 1/3 cup or 65g of filling into the center of the cabbage leaf and fold the cut ends over.  Tuck the sides in like a burrito and roll it to close it up.  Repeat for the remaining pieces and then place each roll seam side down into a 9x13 baking dish.  Note: You might need 2 baking dishes to fit all of the rolls.

Heat the water in a kettle or microwave and then combine with the tomato paste, sugar, and vinegar. Taste test and season with a touch of salt and pepper.  Pour the sauce into the baking dish until it mostly covers the rolls.  If needed, add more hot water.  Cover the dish tightly with foil.

Bake the cabbage rolls until they are super tender.  This will take anywhere from 2-3 hours.  If during the baking process, the liquid starts to dry out, add another 1/2-1 cup of water.

Once the rolls are tender remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before eating.  If the sauce is too thin, remove the rolls to a platter and add the sauce to a pot.  Cook the sauce over medium-high heat until it thickens to your liking then remove from the heat and whisk in 3 tablespoons of cold butter, one cube at a time.  Pour the thickened sauce over the cabbage rolls. Enjoy!

For the cabbage rolls

We loved this combo of Italian sausage with the ground chuck-
My adjustments : 
I used fresh oregano&amp; Italian parsley - garlic salt. Pepper and smoked paprika . I added celery to the onion sauté, 2 eggs instead of 1 and my time hack was to use already cooked basmati rice 
For sauce - I used 2 C hot H2O instead of 4, a 7oz tomato paste, 2TBSP cider vinegar, 1 TBSP Balsamic glaze and 2 TBSP honey instead of brown sugar .. 
I cooked the dish with foil for 2 hours and then 1/2 hour without foil to bubble and thicken the sauce / which worked perfectly in my oven at 350 - plenty of thick sauce to spoon over the rolls - turned out perfect !! Love having left overs too

Great recipe!  I added some chili flakes and some grated garlic for just a bit of spice and flavor in the meat filling.

Fantastic. Absolutely delicious. Excellent recipe and it came out just as described.

Love these! Thought I would have enough for another meal but they were almost gone! Thank you for another great recipe! Could these be done in a crockpot or on the stove top?

My mother made this almost exactly to the T but she put a can of sauerkraut on top then a can of tomatoe sauce on the we called them pigs in the blanket..delicious

Great Recipe! I am making it for the 2nd time and it is fantastic

Best I've ever eaten.  Not a difficult recipe but the rolling part will take a little practice for me anyway.  I think the meat stuffing would be good in bell peppers using the same sauce.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpibXEan7co

Today we're making Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, the perfect cold-weather meal!  
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INGREDIENTS
For the cabbage rolls
1 large head of cabbage - cored but left whole
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter
1 large onion - finely diced
1 pound (454) bulk Italian sausage
1 pound (454g) ground chuck
1 large egg
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 cup (227g) cooked long grain rice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
For the sauce
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
4 cups (~1L) water
1 tablespoon (13g) brown sugar
2 tablespoons (30ml) cider vinegar
salt and pepper - to taste
3 tablespoons (42g) unsalted butter - optional

VIDEO EDITOR:
Billy Mark: @bluecrestproductions

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I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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