Not entirely sure on the best way to spell, or say what I’m about to make. Growing up with some Polish influence, I gotta share some of that with you here. Turns out, it’s not all that popular with those I hold dear. Some scoffs, some ‘nah’.. near everyone preferred a pierogi. And while that may be true, I’m still going to make it. And I’m going to enjoy it. (I did enjoy it).
This should be a pretty straightforward meal. Not a whole lot of fancy going on here, but that’s also what I enjoy. Simplistic, wholesome.
The Prep Table
We’re really just making a rice/meat mixture, wrapping it in cabbage leaves and throwing a tomato sauce on top. I went to the shop wondering, should I do beef.. pork.. veal even. Should I mix it? Then the Gods spoke to me. Those beautiful Polish Gods that gave me a pre-blended product. So we’re doing exactly that, 50/50 beef and pork.
I dropped one of MrsForensicBBQ’s 945 candles from atop the microwave and totally broke the spoon holder. I don’t remember if it was making this dish or another one (I don’t do too much in kitchen, you know I like to be outside at the RecTeq’s. But take it in, because you’ll no doubt see a MrsForensicBBQ superglue repair in the future.
Anyway, let’s get a saute on the onion and cook up that rice. We’re not going to cook the rice all the way, because this thing still has to be baked. The hardest part was next.. the cabbage. Maybe not so much hardest, but what took the longest.
Threw some of that rosemary into the onion and seasoned it up a bit. We’re going to bring this up to a boil and when the leaves start to separate, pluck ’em outta there. Repeat until you’re out of leaves to pluck. Make a leaf pile and get ready to roll.
The Process
Throw a bed of the smaller, harder leaves at the bottom of the pan so insulate the cabbage rolls you’ll be placing on top. Now we’re going to mix the onion, meat and rice in a large bowl and just dirty. Grab a small amount, throw it in the leaf and roll. Fold in the sides and let gravity work on that seam by placing it at the bottom. Roll. and Roll. and Roll.
It was a messy cook, as you can see from the rice shrapnel, but a pound of meat still yielded quite a bit of golabki. I made a whole lotta rolls, so I froze the ones I wasn’t going to cook today. I figured these would be a great leftover meal.. and quick and easy to thaw and eat throughout the week (correct).
This was a weakly seasoned tomato sauce. It took everything I had not to spice it up, but I wanted to stay true. I even bought (and learned) what a passata was. We’re just going to let this sit and simmer while we’re baking up these cabbage rolls.
No surprise, I can’t just simply throw these in the oven. I’m going to take these out to the RecTeq. I splashed in that beef stock and covered the top with some more cabbage. I didn’t want the direct heat to hit the rolls – just cook ’em. Pro tip, because the leaves did up getting wonky on me.
The Result
After about 45min to an hour, check to make sure that meat is cooked and get ready to plate. Now, I understand that this probably won’t be the most instagrammy of all cooks, but I told you I wanted a rustic wholesome meal. You’re trading the flashy for my history with this one.
You can see from this picture the importance of that shallow leaf cover that the bottom and top of the baking dish provided. These rolls were cooked perfectly. Only thing left is to dress it up.
Again, I wanted to throw a little bit of something on top of that sauce. Cracked pepper, some of that ForensicBBQ roasted garlic powder.. something. But again, I wanted to stay authentic. The sauce simmered to an ideal thickness – saucy, but still adhering to the rolls. This meal was about as you think it was. Uneventful, basic.. yet delicious. It was homey, and it hit the spot. Looking forward to travelling the world via this food blog, so enjoy the ride – because I know I do!