Braised Cabbage With Beef and Pork (Golumpki)
You know that dish that triggers a fond childhood memory? Let me tell you about an amazing, traditional Polish dish that does that for me called ‘Golumpki.’ Traditionally, golumpki consists of boiled cabbage leaves that are stuffed with beef and/or pork, rolled up, and then cooked in a simple tomato sauce for hours. It’s a peasant dish that’s a labor of love, and one of the rewards is your house being filled with that Sunday dinner smell (you know the one I’m talking about, right?). Golumpki is one spillion percent Polish comfort food.
This here is a take on my mom’s unstuffed version of her Grandmother’s golumpki. The cabbage is chopped into smaller pieces and cooked along with the meat in the tomato sauce. The same AMAZING results are achieved but it’s a fraction of the labor/time. We’ve got things to do, people!
Braised Cabbage With Beef and Pork (Golumpki) Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE SAUCE!
- 1 – 28 oz can tomato purée
- 1 – 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
- ¼ cup dry red wine…this homo loves cooking with Chianti 🙂
- kosher salt
- black pepper
FOR THE MEAT!
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp milk
- ⅓ cup uncooked white rice, rinsed
- 1 head smooth green cabbage, cored & chopped into 1-inch squares
TOPPINGS!
- dollop of sour cream
- sprinkle of dry or fresh dill
Instructions
FOR THE SAUCE!
- Empty tomato purée, sauce, paste, and wine into a medium pot over medium-low heat.
- Fill ½ of the purée can with water, making sure to get all the leftover sauce from the sides like my Nana would. Add it to the pot.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Wine taste will eventually cook out)
FOR THE MEAT!
- While the sauce is heating up, add beef, pork, onion, garlic, egg, and milk to a large bowl. NO RICE YET! Season with salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Roll up a wee little meat patty and sauté it in a wee little pan. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Keep frying off samples until you're satisfied.
- Once you're happy with the flavor, add the rinsed rice and mix well.
- Form meat into flat little patties. I end up with around 11.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
OHHH, THE CLIMAX!
- Gather sauce from stove, meat, and cabbage. Time to build!
- In stock pot, layer with cabbage, then meat, then sauce and repeat. I usually end up with a top layer of cabbage, making sure it's covered in sauce.
- Cover and bake for 2½ hours. Top cabbage should be completely wilted.
- Serve on a plate or in shallow bowls, with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dry or fresh dill. I love to wipe any remaining sauce up with some good ol' buttered bread.
Notes
69.) OMG DID YOU MAKE THIS?!?
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