Hello, or should I say cześć, because today we are going to be getting down with our first ever Polish recipe! It’s something that I’m proud to finally say because, in all honesty, I’m not that familiar with Polish cuisine. In fact, my entire experience with Polish cuisine can be summed up in four words, perogies, and Źywiec beer. But to hell with the idea that inexperience should stop us from making great food! I’ve always believed that as home cooks we should constantly try to expand our cooking repertoire. And today we are going to be putting that mantra into practice by making classic cabbage rolls.
Now if you’ve never heard of cabbage rolls before then let me explain what exactly this beautiful dish is. It consists of beef and rice, along with a few other ingredients, all rolled up into cabbage leaves and cooked in a tomato-based sauce. Basically, it’s just simple and straight forward comfort food. However, I will say that this is not a quick weekday meal, as it requires a bit of time and labor. But don’t let that scare you from making it as it’s a fairly simple dish that just about any skill level can prepare. So if you’re ready to make some delicious cabbage rolls then let’s get into the recipe!
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- A lot of cabbage roll recipes use a mixture of beef and pork, so if that sounds good to you then feel free to give it a shot!
- If you’re looking for a simpler tomato sauce then try using Campbell’s tomato soup. Yes, you read that right, Campbell’s tomato soup! And no that isn’t a trailer park trick, that is a suggestion that I have seen given by actual Polish people.
- Try using riced cauliflower instead of rice for a gluten-free option.
- I have found that subbing out the regular paprika with some smoked paprika for a little bit of depth of flavor.
- While some might say that this dish is an entire meal all by itself, I enjoy serving it with a side like creamy mashed potatoes, or parsley potatoes.
Cabbage Rolls Recipe
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 ½ to 2 hours
Servings: roughly 16 to 20 cabbage rolls, depending on how big or small you make them
Ingredients
2 Heads of green cabbage
For the filling:
2 Lbs of ground beef
1 Cup of rice, par-boiled
2 Medium-sized onions, diced
2 Eggs
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons of minced parsley leaves
2 Teaspoons of paprika
2 Teaspoons of salt
1 Teaspoon of ground black pepper
For sauce:
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
6 oz. of tomato paste
2 Cups of boiling water
1 Tablespoon of salt
2 Teaspoons of sugar
1 Teaspoon of garlic powder
Garnish:
Extra minced parsley leaves
Instructions
- Parboil the rice: Get out a small pot and place about 2 cups of water into it. Place this over high heat until it comes to a boil and toss in your cup of rice. Let the rice boil for 10 minutes and then strain it. Let the rice cool off completely.
- Sautee the diced onions with a tablespoon of oil until they are translucent, but not browned. Let the onions cool off completely.
- Prep the cabbage: Start by filling a large stockpot ¾ of the way with water and place it over high heat until it begins to steam/simmer. Then use a pairing knife to take out the stem and core of the cabbage.
Place one of the cabbages into the steaming/simmering pot of water and use a wooden spoon to separate the leaves from each other.
Let these leaves simmer in the pot for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are soft. Transfer the cabbage leaves to a plate to cool and repeat the process with the other head of cabbage.
- Mix up the filling: Add all of the ingredients for the filling into a large bowl and use your hands to mix them all together. Be gentle though, we don’t want the rice going mushy!
- Make the sauce: Get out another large bowl and toss the tomato paste into it. Then pour in 2 cups of boiling water and dissolve the tomato paste into it. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and mix everything together.
- Make your cabbage rolls: Get a cabbage leaf and begin by removing the outer part of the stem with a pairing knife.
Place the leave down on a cutting board and make an inch sized slice through the remainder of the stem.
Then dollop about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling down onto the leaf. Start rolling the cabbage leaf around the filling until it forms a log shape. Then fold up the sides of the cabbage leaf and continue rolling until everything is nice and tight.
- Cook the cabbage rolls: Get out a large pot and pour a little bit of the sauce into it so that it covers the bottom. Then layer the cabbage rolls into the pot and pour the remaining sauce over them all until they are submerged.
At this point, I like to place a small plate over the cabbage rolls to make sure that they are completely submerged in the sauce while cooking.
Finally, place this pot over high heat until it comes to a boil and then lower the temperature and cover the pot so that it simmers for 1½ to 2 hours.
- After the cabbage rolls have cooked, take them out and serve them on a plate. Then pour some of the tomato sauce over them along with some minced parsley leaves and enjoy!
Cabbage Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Heads of green cabbage
For the filling:
- 2 Lbs of ground beef
- 1 Cup of rice par-boiled
- 2 Medium-sized onions diced
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Cloves of garlic minced
- 3 Tablespoons of minced parsley leaves
- 2 Teaspoons of paprika
- 2 Teaspoons of salt
- 1 Teaspoon of ground black pepper
For sauce:
- 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
- 6 oz. of tomato paste
- 2 Cups of boiling water
- 1 Tablespoon of salt
- 2 Teaspoons of sugar
- 1 Teaspoon of garlic powder
Garnish:
- Extra minced parsley leaves
Instructions
- Parboil the rice: Get out a small pot and place about 2 cups of water into it. Place this over high heat until it comes to a boil and toss in your cup of rice. Let the rice boil for 10 minutes and then strain it. Let the rice cool off completely.
- Sautee the diced onions with a tablespoon of oil until they are translucent, but not browned. Let the onions cool off completely.
- Prep the cabbage: Start by filling a large stockpot ¾ of the way with water and place it over high heat until it begins to steam/simmer. Then use a pairing knife to take out the stem and core of the cabbage. Place one of the cabbages into the steaming/simmering pot of water and use a wooden spoon to separate the leaves from each other. Let these leaves simmer in the pot for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are soft. Transfer the cabbage leaves to a plate to cool and repeat the process with the other head of cabbage.
- Mix up the filling: Add all of the ingredients for the filling into a large bowl and use your hands to mix them all together. Be gentle though, we don’t want the rice going mushy!
- Make the sauce: Get out another large bowl and toss the tomato paste into it. Then pour in 2 cups of boiling water and dissolve the tomato paste into it. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and mix everything together.
- Make your cabbage rolls: Get a cabbage leaf and begin by removing the outer part of the stem with a pairing knife. Place the leave down on a cutting board and make an inch sized slice through the remainder of the stem. Then dollop about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling down onto the leaf. Start rolling the cabbage leaf around the filling until it forms a log shape. Then fold up the sides of the cabbage leaf and continue rolling until everything is nice and tight.
- Cook the cabbage rolls: Get out a large pot and pour a little bit of the sauce into it so that it covers the bottom. Then layer the cabbage rolls into the pot and pour the remaining sauce over them all until they are submerged. At this point, I like to place a small plate over the cabbage rolls to make sure that they are completely submerged in the sauce while cooking. Finally, place this pot over high heat until it comes to a boil and then lower the temperature and cover the pot so that it simmers for 1½ to 2 hours.
- After the cabbage rolls have cooked, take them out and serve them on a plate. Then pour some of the tomato sauce over them along with some minced parsley leaves and enjoy!
Inspiration from other blogs
From Freda’s Kitchen
From Polish House Wife
