Rose’s Stuffed Cabbage – Golumpki

It’s become a tradition of mine to make Polish Golumpki every September during the harvest season in New England.

Visiting the local farm stands you’ll find large cabbage heads selling at ridiculous low prices ranging from .99 cents to $1.49 each.

This recipe is adapted from my sister Rose’s recipe who got her recipe from her Polish Mother in Law!

Rose is the designated Golumpki maker for every family party and there is never enough!

Every time I make these I think of a nick name;  PortaPole (Being of Portuguese and Polish decent)!

I hope I have a pot big enough to cook this cabbage head that I bought at my local farmers market!

Enjoy!

Stuffed Cabbage

Makes: 18- 20 rolls

Ingredients:

1 large head of cabbage

2 lbs of ground turkey or lean ground beef

1 large onion finely chopped

2 tbsp of olive oil

4 cups of cooked rice (room temp or cold)

1 stick of margarine

3 eggs

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of pepper

1 chicken bouillon  cube

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Jar of marinara sauce or (* 1 can of Tomato soup)

1 cup of water

1 small onion sliced

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°. Core the end of the cabbage but keep it a whole head, and boil for about 10 minutes (or until leaves are soft) in a large pot of water.

Remove from the water, drain and let the cabbage cool on a large tray.

Saute the diced onion in a small skillet in the olive oil and 1/2 if the stick of margarine on medium-low heat.

Add the chicken bouillon cube do dissolve it and set the onion mixture aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the rice, eggs, ground meat, onion and spices and mix well to incorporate all the ingredients as you would a meatloaf.

Pull the leaves of the cabbage apart. *Slowly and try not to tear them. With a small carving knife, remove the thick rib part from the leaves.

Coat the bottom of a large deep dish baking pan or lasagna dish with 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce.

Fill each cabbage leaf with about 1/2 cup of equal portions, roll each leaf like a wrap and slowly place them in the baking pan.

Slice the remaining cabbage into shreds.

Saute the small sliced onion and the shredded cabbage in a skillet with a couple of tbsp of the margarine until the onion is translucent.

Pour the cooked onion and cabbage over the rolls filling in the sides and open spaces.

Add the 1 cup of water to the remaining marinara sauce and pour it over the cabbage rolls and into the sides.

Shake the pan to incorporate the sauce evenly.

Dot the top of the cabbage rolls with the remaining margarine.

Cover with foil and cook for 1 – 1/2 to 2 hours or longer until the cabbage is tender. *Test by piercing with a fork.

Remove from oven and let the rolls sit for at least 15 minutes before serving.

You can freeze the rolls covered in any type of tomato sauce in a plastic food safe container.

Defrost them overnight in refrigerator and heat in the oven or microwave.

Serve with Rye bread or Pao caseiro. Enjoy!