Cabbage rolls – Polish recipe
These little cabbage rolls must be my favourite dish that can be made from cabbage. I like them most when they are first fried on fat then simmered in water or sauce until soft. From various reasons some people find this dish impossible to make. As far as I am concerned, I always found them to be a lot of work but their taste repays it.
I recommend making a big portion of cabbage rolls and freeze them as they are freezing very well. I do it myself every time when making them. Usually, I prepare enough cabbage rolls for two or even three dinners.
What grains should you use for stuffing cabbage rolls? The answer is that you have to mix various types of grains. Combining rice and barley, rice and buckwheat or rice and pearl barley give you the best result. I never use just rice or just one type of groats when making cabbage rolls stuffing.
The same applies to the meat used in the stuffing. You can use cooked beef, chicken, minced meat, turkey. Usually, I also add a little fried bacon or sausage regardless of the type of other meat used.
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Ingredients for cabbage rolls.
- 1 medium-sized head of cabbage
- 100 g buckwheat groats
- 100 g millet groats
- 250 g smoked sausage
- 400 g minced beef
- 2 medium-sized onions
- 1 teaspoon of caraway powder
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of dry parsley
- 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
- 200 ml water
Tomato sauce:
- 300 ml water
- 100 ml cream (30%)
- 100 ml tomato sauce or canned tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon of potato starch
- black pepper and salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon of chopped dill
How to make cabbage rolls.
Put the cabbage into a large pot and pour enough water on it to cover the cabbage. Stick a fork in the center of the cabbage – this will help you holding the cabbage when removing its leaves. When the water in the pot starts boiling, reduce the heat. Use a knife to gently cut off the cabbage leaves, starting with the outer ones and notching at the very core. Holding the fork, gently tilt the cut leaves with an additional fork or a knife and transfer them to a plate. When you have cut off all the leaves or as many as you need, carefully remove the outer midrib part of each leaf: cut it off with a knife without making a hole.
Pour water into a large pot, add one tablespoon of salt and place in the leaves. Do not put all the leaves at ones but in batches. Cook the leaves for around 4 minutes then cool them down.
Cabbage stuffing: cook both groats according to the instructions on their package and once done, let them cool down.
Dice the onion into small cubes and put it in a frying pan. Add finely diced sausage to it, then fry over a medium heat until the sausage is slightly fried but the onion is not yet brown. Let them cool down.
Put the fried onion and sausage, the cooked groats, 1 tablespoon of salt, pepper, minced meat, ground caraway and dried parsley into a bowl. Mix it very well.
Folding the cabbage rolls: place the cabbage leaves on a counter. On one edge of the leaf, put a few spoons of the stuffing – there shouldn’t be too much of it, as it will be hard for us to roll the cabbage. Cover the stuffing with the cabbage from both sides then roll.
Put the cabbage rolls into a pan and add some oil. Fry the rolls on each side until golden brown.
Place the fried cabbage rolls in a casserole dish or a large frying pan and pour 200 ml of water in. Simmer covered, over a low heat until the cabbage rolls are tender.
Tomato sauce: put all the ingredients in a pot. While constantly stirring with a whisk, bring them to a boil, then simmer for 2 minutes.
Serve the cabbage rolls with plenty of the sauce.
Good to know when making cabbage rolls.
I used packed groats, each weighing 100 g. I cooked them for about 10 minutes.
It’s best to use a large head of cabbage. The leaves will be larger and it will be easier not only to put the stuffing on such leaves but also to roll the cabbage rolls.
If you are done with making the rolls but still have some cabbage left, you can cook it in the manner given in the attached link below.
Do you like dishes made with cabbage? If so, try our recipe for Cabbage salad with vegetables.
