Golabki

Last weekend, when going through my pile of recipes and deciding what to make, I stumbled upon this copy of a recipe from my Babcia's cupboard...

Golabki, pronounced "Go-Womp-Kee", similar to Pierogi "Per-Oh-Gee", and not related to Garajki "Garage Key"... is my favorite Polish dish. 

As noted in the always factual resource guide Wikipedia, "Golabki is the plural of Golabek, the diminutive of Golab, meaning "Pigeon".   See the resemblance...? 

These traditional cabbage rolls are made from lightly boiled cabbage leaves, which are wrapped around a filling of minced meat, finely chopped onions, and rice or barley; baked or braised in a tomato sauce.

Prep Time:  45 Minutes

Cook Time:  2 Hours

Servings:  12 

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage

1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground veal

1/2 pound ground pork

1 onion chopped fine

1 clove garlic chopped fine

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 cup partially cooked rice (or) 1 cup fully cooked barley

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper

1 large can petite diced tomatoes

Method:

• Remove the core from the head of cabbage and place in a pot of boiling, salted water.
• As the cabbage begins to soften, pull off individual leaves and drain in a colander.
• Cool leaves in cold water and pat dry.  Cut out heavy ribs.

• Saute onion and garlic in butter until transparent.
• Combine cooled onions, meat, egg, rice, and seasoning.
• Place a 1/3 cup meat mixture at the bottom edge of each cabbage leaf.

• Roll the cabbage leaf up over the meat, encasing it completely.
• Fold the two opposite sides and roll.
• Arrange golabki in a casserole dish or oven proof dutch oven lined with the leftover cabbage leaves.
• Cover with tomatoes and add water or beef broth to allow for a nice gentle simmer.
• Put in a 325 degree oven covered for 2 hours, covered for the first hour.

Recipe Links:

Here is a step-by-step pictorial from about.com with more detail on preparing the cabbage.

Here is a great vegetarian version of this classic dish.