Polish Cabbage Rolls (Gołąbki)
Tender cabbage leaves wrap a savory pork-and-rice filling, then simmer in stock and a buttery tomato sauce for classic Polish comfort food.
Prep: 40 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 head savoy cabbage or green cabbage about 1.5 kg / 3 lb
- 1 tablespoon cooking salt for the cabbage cooking water
- 4 cups chicken stock divided as directed
- 700 g pork mince preferably not lean
- 1 large brown onion peeled and kept whole
- 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs regular breadcrumbs may substitute
- 2 cups cooked white rice cooled
- 2 large eggs about 55 g / 2 oz each in shell
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram or 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 1/2 teaspoons cooking salt for the filling
- 1 teaspoon black pepper for the filling
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped, divided
- 700 g tomato passata pureed tomato
- 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste for the sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cooking salt for the sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper for the sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon white sugar for the sauce
- 30 g unsalted butter cut into pieces
Instructions
Instructions
- Trim the cabbage core, boil the whole head in salted water for 10 minutes, then peel off 10 leaves as they soften. Pat the leaves dry and trim the thick ribs so they lie flat. Chop the remaining cabbage.
- Mix the pork, whole onion, breadcrumbs, cooked rice, eggs, garlic, marjoram, filling salt, pepper, and half the chopped parsley until evenly combined.
- Divide the filling among the leaves. Shape each portion into a short cylinder, place it near the lower third of a leaf, fold in the sides, and roll tightly with the seam underneath.
- Pour 1 cup of stock into a deep pan and arrange the rolls seam-side down. Add the remaining stock, bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 25 minutes, until the filling reaches 71°C / 160°F. Remove the rolls.
- Reduce the remaining stock to about 1 1/2 cups. Stir in passata, tomato paste, sauce salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes until lightly thickened, then stir in the butter.
- Return the rolls to the sauce, brush a thin coating over each one, cover, and warm gently for 5 minutes. Scatter with the remaining parsley and serve.