Galumpki (Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

A traditional family dish in my house growing up was a good ole Polish comfort food classic: Galumpki, AKA: Guh-wump-kee. It's basically a pot of delicious cabbage rolls stuffed with meat and rice that stew in pickled juice. Because of it's humble roots... its cheap and can be made with any ratio of rice and meat ( the poorer you were, the more rice you used!). I like to mix ground meats..any combo would work...veal and pork, beef and turkey...heck, mix em all up!

My dad would make 2 pots. In one, the cabbage stewed in chicken broth and tomatoes- in the other, straight pickle juice and IT IS GOOD.Well last night, I merged the two..and because the Italian Wedding Soup I made was in our one big pot, I baked them...and what a sweet surprise that was!



Galumpki-

1 white/ green cabbage, cored with the bottom cut off
1/2 lb ground turkey, raw
1/2 lb  ground pork, raw
1 egg, beaten
1/2 C. breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp. Caraway seeds
1 Cup Rice (Cooked according to bag) --- I used brown rice, typically white is used.
1/2 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small can tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes, drained
1/2 C. White Vinegar
3 Tbsp. Sugar (I used raw)

Preheat oven to 350.
Start cooking the rice per directions. Once done, set aside to cool.
While the rice is cooking, bring a large pot of slightly salted water to boil and add the cabbage. Cook covered for about 15 minutes or until leaves start to unravel. Remove cabbage and let cool in a colander. Reserve 2 cups of cabbage water.

In a large bowl, mix meat, onions, garlic, egg and breadcrumbs. Add the rice (it doesn't need to be cool, just not hot enough to burn your hands when kneading the mixture). Add salt, pepper and coriander, stir.

Take your first cabbage leaf , cutting off the hard core bottom, add a large tablespoon of the meat mixture and fold the large part of the leaf over, tuck in the side and place fold side down on plate (like a burrito!). Continue until the mixture is done.

Now prep your pan (13x9 glass), add a little olive oil to the bottom and layer the bottom with whatever leftover cabbage you have, sliced to create barrier from the bottom of the pan to the rolls. Add the rolls on top, they can be very close together, but don't double layer.

Set pan aside and start the tomato sauce. Mix tomato paste, canned tomatoes, cabbage water, vinegar and sugar. Taste- if its too vinegary, add more sugar, if its too sweet, add more vinegar-- I personally added another 1/4 C. vinegar-- but I love the tang!

Once mixed, poor over the cabbage rolls. Cover with foil and bake for 2 hours. Check after an hour just to make sure it's not bubbling over.

It's best served with rye bread and butter-- a true Polish dinner!



Na Zdrowie!
-E