Gołąbki
Stockpot
Sauté Pan
Large Mixing Bowl
9 x 13 Baking Dish
Aluminum Foil
1.
With a sharp paring knife, remove the core of the cabbage by cutting around it and discarding it.
2.
Fill a stockpot with water and generously salt it—it should be as salty as the sea. Bring to a boil.
3.
Place the whole head of cabbage into the boiling water, cover, and boil for 5 minutes to soften the outer leaves. Remove the cabbage and reserve the boiling water.
4.
Rinse the cabbage under cold water to make it easier to handle, and carefully peel off as many whole leaves as you can until they become too stiff to work with. Return the cabbage to the boiling water for another 2 minutes, then repeat the process until you have about 18 to 20 leaves.
5.
Using a paring knife, shave off the thick part of the center stem to create a more uniform thickness, but be careful not to cut through the entire stem. If needed, return the leaves to the boiling water to soften them further, making it easier to shave the stems.
6.
Select the best 15 leaves to stuff, and set the remaining leaves aside to line your baking dish.
7.
In a large sauté pan, heat the fat over medium heat. Add the onions and cook gently until translucent, about seven minutes. Continue cooking for an additional five minutes to build flavor without browning. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Transfer the onions and garlic to a large mixing bowl, reserving the fat in the pan.
8.
If needed, add additional fat to the pan so there’s about one tablespoon. Add the ground beef and pork, cooking over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about eight minutes.
9.
Transfer the meat to the bowl with the onions and garlic. Add the cooked rice, dried marjoram, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
10.
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Divide the filling into 15 portions, about ½ cup each.
11.
Take one cabbage leaf and place ½ cup of filling in the center. Fold the base of the leaf over the filling, pulling it tight underneath. Fold in the sides, then roll the leaf like a burrito. Repeat with the remaining leaves.
12.
Line the bottom of your baking dish with the reserved cabbage leaves. Place the 15 stuffed cabbage rolls in the dish and pour in the beef stock. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 our and 15 minutes.
13.
Meanwhile, sauté the bacon over medium heat until browned, about seven minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon, reserving the fat in the pan.
14.
In the same pan, cook the onions in the rendered bacon fat until translucent, about seven minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in the tomato paste and let it caramelize for one minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, vinegar, salt, and pepper, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce thickens.
15.
Remove the gołąbki from the oven and arrange them on a serving platter. Spoon the sauce over the top or serve it on the side. Smacznego!
Ingredients
- 1 whole head white cabbage, about 4 pounds
- Salt (for boiling)
For Filling:
- 2 tablespoons fat: bacon fat, lard, or clarified butter preferred, olive oil in a pinch, plus additional as needed
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- ½ cup cooked medium-grained rice
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup beef stock
For Sauce:
- 4 slices bacon, chopped into batons
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Cook's Notes
French and Chinese cuisines have a wealth of carved-in-stone dishes, techniques, and immortalized preparations. Poland, in comparison, has fewer—but what Polish cuisine lacks in rigid tradition, it makes up for with its hearty ingredients. Think meat (hello, pork), cream, root vegetables, and signature spices like marjoram.
Gołąbki (plural), pronounced go-WUMP-ki, is one of Poland’s signature dishes: stuffed cabbage, usually topped with a tomato sauce. The name means “little pigeon,” referring to the shape of these tasty, tightly wrapped packets—not the ingredients. Of course, if you’re feeling adventurous, you could riff on tradition and use pigeon in the filling.
My version uses a tomato sauce enriched with bacon for added depth and porkiness. To let the bright green cabbage stand out, I like to drizzle the sauce down the center of the arranged gołąbki before serving. For a simpler preparation, you could skip the beef stock and smother the gołąbki with tomato sauce before baking.