We were trying to decide what to cook one day so we came up with this idea of finding a recipe from a country that hasn’t influenced us with its cuisine. We came across this Polish stuffed cabbage recipe by Chef Billy Parisi, which looked interesting. We were skeptical a bit as we had stuffed cabbage from Turkey before and there was a chance of this dish being too similar. Oh boy were we wrong. We are glad we made it in a batch that’s enough for the whole week because we enjoyed eating this every single day for dinner for the whole week.
Polish Stuffed Cabbage (Golabki)
Hearty and savory goodness in a pouch with sauce
Ingredients
Filling
- 1/3 c long grain brown rice
- 5 T butter
- 1 yellow onion, medium diced small
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 slices large bread diced, crust removed
- 1 lbs Vegetarian beef (Beyond or Impossible)
- 1 lbs Beyond sausage
- 1½ t marjoram
- 1½ t oregano
- ½ t paprika
Wrap & Cooking Stock
- 1 head green cabbage young
- 4 c veggie beef broth (2 vegetarian beef bullion dissolved in 4 c of hot water)
- 2 T tomato paste
Sauce
- 28 oz tomato puree
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅛ t allspice ground
- 2 T butter
- 1 t red wine vinegar
- salt & pepper
Instructions
Filling Prep
- Add the rice to a small saucepot. Pour in the water, gently season with salt, stir, add on a lid, and cook for only 8 minutes. Set the rice to the side to completely cool.
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients as described in the Ingredients list.
- Melt the butter, and saute the diced onions for 5 minutes (or until lightly browned) over medium heat
- Turn the heat down to low, stir for another 10 minutes or until the onions are caramelized.
- Add the minced garlic, stir until fragrant for about 30-45 seconds.
- Mix in the diced bread until it gets coated in butter. Set aside to cool.
- Once the bread-onion-garlic mixture is cool, combine it in a large bowl with plant beef and pork, marjoram, oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix it, set it aside.
Cabbage Prep
- Carefully cut out and remove the core of the cabbage leaving any lose leaves. Put the entire cabbage covered in a large pot of boiling salty water, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Let the cabbage sit for 5-6 minutes, until cool enough to touch.
- Carefully remove the leaves without tearing them. You should get 16-18 leaves. Carefully flatten each leaf, and trim the thick vein so it can roll up.
Filling the Leaves
- Take about 2 to 4 ounces of filling, place it in the lower 3rd section of the leaf, fold in the sides then roll it up. Repeate the process until all the filling is gone.
Cooking the Golabki
- Lay down any unused leaves in the bottom of a large pot. Layer all the stuffed leaves in to the pot.
- Stir the tomato paste into the stock, then pour it in the pot. Bring the mixture to boil over high heat. Then cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes over low heat, until the leaves are tender.
Cooking the Sauce
- Drain the braising liquid into a separate pot. Pour in the puree, add the bay leaf along with all spice and salt. Heat over medium-high while stirring frequently until it is reduced by 25%, for about 15 minutes.
- Finish the sauce with butter, vinegar, salt & pepper.
