Saturday, July 15, 2006


Tom's Cabbage Rolls

When Tom comes home, I always ask him what he'd like to eat and he requests cabbage rolls. My mother made this dish years ago and it has become a family favorite. A few years ago we had a visitor from Japan and I happened to make this dish; I was very surprised to learn there is a similar dish in Japan. I think the American version would originate in Poland and my friend Dee would call them "Golomki's".
Here's how I do it:

Ingredients:
10 cabbage leaves
3 cups cooked rice
1 chopped onion
1 egg slightly beaten
1.5 pounds ground chuck (could be ground chicken or turkey)
Seasoning: garlic powder and salt
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce

Preparation: Cut out the core from a fresh head of cabbage. Put it under the faucet, run water into it while carefully removing 10 leaves, trying not to break them. Then boil the leaves in a pot with a cup of water for a couple of minutes to make them soft and pliable.
Next mix the chopped onion, egg, meat, half of the rice, and seasonings. Prepare the cabbage rolls by opening a cabbage leaf, putting a scoop of meat mix in center, folding the sides in and rolling up.
Cooking: put a little olive oil in a large frying pan, arrange cabbage rolls in pan, cover, cook on medium high heat for 10 minutes. Then turn the heat down to medium low and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes, checking that they don't burn.
Five minutes before serving pour the tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls in the pan, cover and warm at medium heat until thoroughly hot.
Serve the cabbage rolls with a scoop of rice and tomato sauce, garlic bread, and salad. Enjoy!

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