Polish Gołąbki: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe

Prepare the filling. Cook the rice and mix it with the raw minced pork. In a pan, sauté the onions in oil until they turn golden. Add to the meat and rice mixture. Incorporate salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs. Combine thoroughly.

Preparing the cabbage. Prepare large pot, pour water up to 1/3 of its height and boil it.For Sweetheart or Savoy Cabbage: Simply blanch the leaves in boiling water for 2 minutes. Trim the thick nerve in the middle of each leaf.For White Cabbage: Removing the hardest part of the stem with a knife. Place the cabbage in boiling water, after two minutes, turn the leaves upside down and wait for another 2-3 minutes before removing. You can start rolling while waiting for the cabbage.Reserve the smallest leaves and core part for laying the baking dish

Filling. Make a ball of meat & rice stuffing in your hands and transfer it to a leaf. Place it at the bottom part of the leaf. Fold the leaf sides toward the centre. Roll the cabbage roll tightly. Roll all cabbage rolls until you run out of stuffing.

Cooking. For the stovetop method: Using the pot previously employed for blanching the cabbage, layer the bottom with bacon slices followed by smaller cabbage leaves. Position the rolls on top, add the broth, cover the pot, and allow it to simmer gently for approximately 1.5 hours.Oven-baked method: In a Dutch oven or another oven-safe dish, arrange bacon slices and the small leftover cabbage leaves at the base. Position the rolls snugly next to each other and pour in the broth. Cover and bake at 180°C (356°F) for about 50 minutes, until the leaves are soft; if they are not, give them longer under the lid with a splash of hot water. Use the liquid from the dish for the tomato sauce in step 5.Slow-cooker method: In your slow cooker, layer the bacon slices and the smaller cabbage leaves, pack in the gołąbki, pour in the broth and top with a few more cabbage leaves. Set to cook on low for 6 hours or, if short on time, on high for 3 hours, until the leaves are soft. When finished, take care lifting out the tender gołąbki, and use the liquid from the cooker for the tomato sauce in step 5.

Make the sauce and serve. Lift all the liquid out of the pot and keep it hot. Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the flour and cook it for a minute, then take it off the heat before you add any liquid. Whisk the hot braising stock in a ladle at a time, letting each one come together before the next, or you will get lumps. Back on the heat, stir in the tomato purée and simmer gently for five minutes. Season, add a pinch of sugar if the tomato is sharp, and stir in the soured cream off the heat if you are using it. Let the gołąbki settle for ten minutes before lifting them out, then serve with the sauce over them. Smacznego!