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Stuffed cabbage - gołąbki - recipe [59]
Some suggestions for the adventurous:
GO£ĄBKI/CABBAGE ROLLS, PREPARATION (przygotowywanie gołąbków): Core 3 lb cabbage, place cored-side-down in pot of hot water to cover and simmer to wilt leaves. Remove outer leaves as they wilt to rack or absorbent paper to drain. When cool enough to handle shave down the thick central vein of drained cabbage leaves or pound it with kitchen mallet to soften. Place an oblong scoop of filling at the base end of each leaf. Fold sides of leaf over filling and roll up away from filling. After the gołąbki have been rolled, line the bottom of a roasting pan with half the leftover undersized, damaged or otherwise unused cabbage leaves. Place the cabbage rolls snugly in roaster no more than 2 layers. Drench with sauce or stock (app. 2-3 c) of choice (for varieties see recipes below) and cover with remaining unneeded cabbage leaves. Surrounding the gołąbki with extra leaves will prevent them from scorching. Bake covered in preheated 350° oven 1 hr. Reduce heat to 325° and cook another hr. Switch off heat and leave in oven another 20 min or so for flavors to blend. They will be even better when reheated the next day.
CABBAGE ROLLS, MEAT & RICE-FILLED (gołąbki z mięsem i ryżem): Prepare filling by combining 1 lb raw ground meat (pork, pork & beef, pork-veal-beef combination, or ground dark-meat turkey) with 4-6 c undercooked rice, 1-3 chopped butter-fried onions fried and 1 egg. Mix ingredients well and salt & pepper to taste. Drench cabbage rolls in roasting pan with either of the following:
Tomato sauce
-- 3 c tomato juice (plain or containing several dashes Tabasco or 1/4 c spicy-style ketchup);
-- 3 c puréed tomatoes or stewed tomatoes ;
-- 3 c stock (meat or vegetable) mixed with several T tomato paste;
-- 2 c canned tomato soup mixed with 1/2 c ketchup (regular or spicy) and 1/2 c water;
Sour-cream sauce
-- Drench gołąbki with 3 c home-made stock or store-bought beef or poultry bouillon (cubes, granules); when cabbage rolls are cooked, pour of any remaining pan liquid that has not been absorbed, stir in 1 c sour cream and enough stock to make 3 c sauce; 1/2 a mushroom cube will greatly improve its taste; drench cabbage rolls with sauce and bake another 15-20 min.
Note: Prepare extra sauce on the side for your gravy-boat for those who like to drench their go³¹bki and accompanying mashed potatoes with sauce.
Sauceless, pork-nugget-garnished
-- Drench gołąbki with 2-1/2 c home-made stock or store-bought beef or poultry bouillon (made with cubes or granules); transfer cooked cabbage rolls to platter and drench with 1/4 lb golden-brown fatback nuggets (skwarki) and their drippings.
CABBAGE ROLLS, MEAT & GROAT-FILLED (gołąbki z mięsem i kaszą): Proceed as above, but substitute cooked barley, buckwheat groats, Kraków groats (fine buckwheat) or millet for the rice.
CABBAGE ROLLS, COOKED-MEAT & RICE/GROAT-TYPE (gołąbki z pieczenią i ryżem/kaszą): Proceed as in either of the preceding two recipes but substitute cooked ground meat (roasts, chops, dark-meat turkey, chicken, etc.) and/or ground, skinned smoked kie³basa for all or some of the raw ground meat.
CABBAGE ROLLS, MEAT-FILLED (gołąbki nadziewane miêsem): This will remind many of a meatballs wrapped in cabbage leaves, because that’s exactly what they are. Break up 2 stale bread rolls into bowl and drench with milk to cover. When soggy, grind and combine with 1 lb raw ground meat (as in meat & rice filled gołąbki above). Add 2 butter-fried chopped onions, 1 egg and any leftover milk from the rolls. Mix well and salt & pepper to taste. If mixture is too soft, mix in a little bread crumbs. This is soemthing liek metablls wrpaped in cabbage leaves.
CABBAGE ROLLS IN MUSHROOM SAUCE (gołąbki w sosie grzybowym): Prepare cabbage rolls as in any of the recipes above. Add a mushroom bouillon cube to the water rice or groats are cooked in. While gołąbki bake, wash and slice or dice 12-16 oz fresh mushrooms (domestic or wild). Stew them in 2-3 T butter with a finely chopped onion until cooked (about 15 min). Add 1 mushroom cube dissolved in 2 c hot water, mixed with 1 c sour cream fork-blended with 1 heaping T flour. Simmer 10 min. When cabbage rolls are cooked, add any remaining pan liquid to mushroom sauce. Salt & pepper to taste. Ladle mushroom sauce over gołąbki and garnish with chopped dill and/or parsley (optional). 1 oz cooked chopped dried mushrooms will make these gołąbki even more exquisite.
CABBAGE ROLLS WITH MUSHROOM FILLING (gołąbki z grzybami):
In 3 T butter, margarine or oil sauté 8-12 oz fresh (wild or cultivated) mushrooms (washed and chopped fine) with 2 med chopped onions. Combine with 3 - 3-1/2 c preferably slightly undercooked rice, barley or buckwheat groats, cooked with 1 mushroom cube. Add 1 raw egg and mix to blend ingredients. Salt & pepper to taste and (optional) garnish with 1 T chopped fresh parsley. Fill pre-wilted cabbage leaves as usual, drench with 3 c vegetable stock (in which 1 mushroom cube has been dissolved) and bake in preheated 350° oven at least 2 hrs. Serve drenched with mushroom sauce (see cabbage rolls in mushroom sauce) above.
MUSHROOM & GROAT-FILLED CABBAGE ROLLS (gołąbki z kasz¹ i grzybami): Pre-wilt cabbage leaves as for all gołąbki. Chop and fry 8-16 oz fresh mushrooms and 2 onions in 3-4 T butter until tender and combine with 4 c slightly undercooked groats (buckwheat, barley, millet) or rice. Stir in 1-2 eggs, salt & pepper generously and add a heaping T fresh, finely chopped dill and/or parsley. In roaster drench with 2 mushroom cubes dissolve in 4 c hot water.
GROAT & POTATO-FILLED CABBAGE ROLLS (go³¹bki z kaszą i kartoflami): Peel, cook and mash well 3/4 lb potatoes and set aside. Grate 2-1/4 lbs peeled, raw potatoes, pouring off liquid. In 4 T oil fry 3 chopped onions until lightly browned. Combine mashed and grated potatoes, add fried onion and add 1/4 c uncooked Kraków kasha (fine milled buckwheat groats). Mix ingredients well and salt & pepper rather generously to taste. Use mixture to fill pre-scalded cabbage leaves, roll up and place snugly in baking pan. Scald with boiling salted water or vegetable stock to cover, bring to boil and cook uncovered 15 min. Cover, transfer to 350°oven and bake 2 hrs. After switching off heat, leave in oven until cooled to room temp. Refrigerate until needed. To serve, brown on all sides in hot oil.
