Many variations of stuffed cabbage exists in cultures around the world. Typically, they consist of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. My first exposure to them was with Jim’s family. He comes from a Polish Italian family and they called this classic Polish dish gołąbki (gaw-WOHMP-kee) which means “little pigeons”. They are considered by Poles as the ultimate comfort food.
I think cabbage doesn’t always get the love it deserves. I particularly love red cabbage stewed with onions and apples with sugar and vinegar. My first memories of cabbage are from my grandparent’s garden. They would grow cabbages and my grandmother would make and can sauerkraut every summer. Now remember that I grew up in Mississippi and I have always wondered how a small town southern grandmother with no German ties came about making sauerkraut. In the hot days of August, she would chop 10 or 12 heads of cabbage and put it in a large butter churn with salt and water. She would leave the churn on her back porch for days until the cabbage was sufficiently fermented. I was a weird kid in that I always like raw vegetables and I remember lifting the top of the churn and tasting the cabbage as it fermented.
I adapted this recipe from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking. The classic Polish gołąbki is stuffed with pork or beef and rice. I wanted to lighten up the recipe, so I used ground turkey and brown rice. Jim’s mother cooked the cabbage rolls in a basic tomato sauce. I like the chunky sauce made with onions, carrots, and celery. The nutmeg, caraway seeds, and raisins give this dish subtle, but wonderful flavor.
Ingredients
Adapted from Williams-Sonama Essentials of Slow Cooking
1 green cabbage
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices bacon
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large rib celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/3 cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 teaspoon brown sugar
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring large pot of water to a boil.
3. With a paring knife, carefully remove the core of the cabbage, Place whole cabbage in boiling water and cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from water and set aside to cool.
3. When cooled carefully remove ten leaves. Remove the thick vein from each leaf by making a V-shape cut.
4. In a medium bowl, mix ground turkey, rice, scallions, garlic, egg, nutmeg, olive oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
5. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven for 4 to 5 minutes or until brown and crispy. Drain, chop, and set aside.
6. Add onion, celery, and carrot to bacon grease in Dutch oven and saute for 5 minutes until vegetables are softening. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, vinegar, raisins, caraway seeds, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix well and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add 1/2 cup tomato mixture to the stuffing. Place a cabbage leaf with the vein end facing you. Place 1/2 cup of stuffing on leaf and roll leaf around stuffing and away from you, folding in the sides as you roll. Set aside with seam side down. Continue stuffing the remainder of leaves.
8. Place stuffed leaves in sauce in a single layer in Dutch oven. Spoon sauce over leaves.
9. Cover Dutch oven and place in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
10. To serve, ladle sauce in a shallow soup bowl and top with 2 cabbage rolls. Sprinkle chopped bacon over cabbage and serve immediately.
https://southernboydishes.com/2013/03/08/stuffed-cabbage-rolls/
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I can’t get over how absolutely BEAUTIFUL your photos of food are!! Thank you for such an inspirational blog!!!!