Description:

Savory Cabbage Rolls that are a mainstay of Polish Cuisine.

Source:

Peek

Serves/Makes:4 or more

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) fat (bacon, duck, chicken, Crisco, whatever you like)
• 1 cup (225 ml) cooked rice
• 1/2 lb (.2 kg). lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb (.2 kg). lean ground pork
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 large round head green cabbage
• 3 beef bouillon cubes (use a quality cube, not Wylers flavored salt)
• 2 cups (475 ml) hot water
• 1 large family size can tomato soup

Preparation

• Place the whole cabbage in a large soup pot or kettle with boiling water.
• Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Remove the cabbage from the pot and take off all the soft leaves, return the cabbage back to the pot for another 5 minutes, and repeat the process until you have all the leaves separated.
• Cut off the hard stem part of the cabbages leaves and set aside.
• Fry the onions in the fat until golden.
• Mix the onions with the rice and the meat, season with salt and pepper (Do not use precooked rice like Minute Rice, use cooked whole short or long grained rice YOU cook).
• Place a large tbspful of meat stuffing into each cabbage leaf.
• Roll the leaf and place them side by side in a greased large roaster pan or a deep 9 x 13 inch pan (You may want to use a toothpick to hold them together, but if you lay them tight enough, you won't need to).
• Dissolve the bouillon cubes (Knorr is a good brand) in the hot water and pour over the side by side cabbage rolls.
• Bake uncovered for in a hot 450 degree (225 C.) oven for 1 hour.
• Pour the undiluted tomato soup over the cabbage rolls and cover the baking dish and reduce the oven to 350 degrees (175 C.) and bake for another hour.

Comments

Cabbage rolls are best reheated, but are good right away too. Serve with richly buttered and creamed mashed potatoes.

Note 1: If you have any extra cabbage leaves, you can cook them on the stove top with a small can of tomato soup, a can of water, 1 bouillon cube and when you add the tomato soup to the pan of cabbage rolls, you can add the extra cabbage and tomato on top too, or serve it separately for gravy on top of the mashed potatoes.

Note 2: You can use cans of whole tomatoes to pour over the cabbage rolls, but it will be too thin. The soup is the best to use and is already sweetened and thick enough.