About the Recipe
Gołąbki is a traditional Polish dish that consists of minced meat, rice, onion and spices, wrapped in cabbage leaves and cooked in broth.
The history of gołąbki dates back to the 18th century, and their original name was "golubtsy", which meant "small pigeons". This name was given because the minced roll from which the stuffed cabbage is made resembled the shape of a small pigeon.
Stuffed cabbage rolls are very nutritious and filling, and at the same time easy to prepare. They can be served as a main course or as an addition to dinner. They are also perfect for winter days when we need something to warm us up.
If you want to try making cabbage rolls at home, there are many recipes to choose from. You can change the ingredients to suit your taste, for example adding more vegetables or replacing the minced meat with meat cut into smaller pieces.
Ingredients
1 head of cabbage
64 oz of wild boar
1 onion
1 garlic clove
½ cup of pearl barley
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
½ cup of cut dried plums
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
3-4 apples
Ingredients for the sauce:
8 oz mushrooms
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of butter
½ cup of vegetable broth
½ cup of white wine
½ cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Start by preparing a big pot of hot water. Remove the cabbage core and place the head of cabbage in the pot with hot water. Be careful not to burn yourself. Using tongs remove the leaves of the cabbage one by one and place it aside to cool down.
Prepare a medium saucepan and cook the pearl barley according to the instructions on the box.
Peel and chop the onions and garlic cloves. Heat up a big frying pan, pour in the olive oil.
On medium heat fry one diced onion with one garlic.
Add the boar meat, and mix it well with the onion and garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes.
Add salt, pepper, all the other herbs and chopped dried plums. Mix everything thoroughly. Cook for 6-7 min.
Place the fried meat in a ball and mix it with cooked pearl barley.
Preheated the oven to 350F.
Place a spoonful of stuffing on each cabbage leaf. To make a roll, fold up from the stem end to the outside. First fold the side in and roll up by tucking the stem part of the leaf inside the roll. Place it in an ovenproof dish.
Slice 3-4 big apples and cover the gołąbki, pour 1/4 of water into the dish.
Bake for about 40 minutes.
For the sauce:
On the same frying pan that you cooked the meat, melt the butter, add the other chopped onion and garlic.
Wash and chop mushrooms.
Add the mushrooms to the frying pan and spices. Fry for a couple of minutes, decrease the heat.
Add vegetable broth and wine. Cook everything for 6-7 min, and at the end add the heavy cream. Mix and cook over low heat for another minute or so.
Pour the sauce over the gołąbki and serve hot.