Golabki (Cabbage Pork Rolls)

This recipe comes from Karolina Tracz. Karolina was born in Poland where similar recipes that use many of the veggies on the farm today abound. In Polish, these cabbage rolls are called golabki, literally “little pigeons.”

1 whole head of savoy cabbage
1 1/2 pounds cippolini onions, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound Nash’s ground pork
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (red rice adds texture )
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds sunchokes, scrubbed and roasted
2 pounds parsnips, roasted
1 1/2 pounds carrots, roasted
2 pounds golden turnips, roasted
1 cup beef or vegetable stock
Sour cream for garnish (optional)

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Roast sunckokes, parsnip, carrots and golden turnips about 30 minutes.

Cook rice, let cool and set aside.

Peel the cabbage, separating the outer leaves to be stuffed.

Chop the remaining cabbage and place it in the bottom of a casserole dish or Dutch oven.

Saute the chopped onion in butter in a large frying pan until tender and let cool.

Mix cooled onions with pork, rice, garlic, salt, black pepper and the roasted roots until well combined. Don’t over-mix or the meat will become tough.

Place about 1/4 cup of meat on each cabbage leaf. Roll away from you to encase the meat. Flip the right side of the leaf to the middle, then flip the left side. You will have something that looks like an envelope. Once again, roll away from you to create a neat little roll.

Place the cabbage rolls on top of the chopped cabbage in the casserole dish or Dutch oven, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper. Pour beef or vegetable broth over rolls, cover and place in oven. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until cabbage is tender and meat is cooked.

Serve with pan juices and a drizzle of sour cream, or mix the pan juices with sour cream and ladle it over the cabbage rolls.

Cabbage rolls freeze well before or after cooking and can be made in a slow cooker.