Polish Cooking: Gołąbki [Golubtsy]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUoQJ-DJup8

Greetings! I've decided I have to break from my salad series for quite some time, since... we have a cabbage season! And what is a better way to use a cabbage than to make gołąbki?

Gołąbki are a historical mystery. They were made since medieval ages in both Polish and Russian regions making it both our cultural heritage. There are some legends but I doubt any of them are reliable source of information.

I guessed you might know it better from the Russian name - Golubtsy and other derivations. But let's not hesitate, and let's make gołąbki!

INGREDIENTS

1 cabbage

0.5kg ground meat

1 glass of rice

2 eggs

salt

pepper

TOMATO SAUCE

200ml tomato paste

1 tbsp butter

2 sprigs of dill

salt

pepper

sugar

RECIPE

1) Remove 2 outer leaves

2) Blanch the cabbage and while blanching, cut the leaves near the base to remove them. Keep them.

3) Stop when you have enough leaves for you. ~16 seems like a good number

4) Prepare filling: mix rice (cooked) with ground meat, salt, pepper, and spices (marjoram, thyme, rosemary: earthy spices are great). It should be spicy and sticky.

5) Shape the gołąbki: Put the filling inside a leaf, cover with left and right ledge, then roll from bottom to top.

6) Cook them: Put tightly inside a pot, cover with brine, and cover with a plate. Cook between 10 minutes and 1 hour (depends if you have young or old cabbage)

7) Prepare sauce - dissolve butter, paste and spices and cook until it reaches desired thickness and taste.

Serve hot, 2 per person with some sauce poured over. For further tips head onto a video, I hope I covered every issue you might have when making gołąbki.

Happy cooking!

bon appetit