Name: Polish-style stuffed cabbage rolls (Gołąbki)
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Polish
Ingredients: 1 head white cabbage (with large, undamaged leaves, about 1.2 to 1.5 kg); 600 g mixed minced meat (pork and beef); 200 g long-grain rice (weighed raw); 2 medium onions, finely diced; 1 tbsp oil (for the onions); salt (for the cabbage water, the rice water and the filling); pepper (freshly ground); 100 g smoked bacon, sliced (raw, not cooked; covers the base of the pan); 400 ml hot meat stock (1 tsp stock granules in 400 ml water); 3 tbsp tomato purée; 3 tbsp ketchup; Maggi seasoning sauce or similar liquid seasoning (to taste); 1 tbsp plain flour (mix smooth with a little cold water, only if the sauce is too thin)

Preparation

Cut the hard core out of the white cabbage in a wedge shape. Cook the head in a large pan of boiling salted water for about 5 minutes, turn it and leave for a further 5 to 6 minutes. The outer leaves come away once they are soft; peel them off one at a time, laying each on a plate to cool.
Parboil the rice in salted water for only 10 to 12 minutes; it should not be fully cooked yet. Drain and leave to cool.
Fry the onions in the oil in a frying pan until golden, without letting them brown. Mix with the mince and the cooled rice, season generously with salt and pepper and knead by hand into an even mixture.
For each cabbage leaf, shave down the thick middle rib so that it rolls more easily. Place two to three tablespoons of filling on the leaf, roll up once, fold in the sides and roll up tightly.
Lay the bacon slices over the base of a wide pan or deep frying pan with a lid and fry over a medium heat. Place the rolls on top, seam side down and packed closely together, and pour in the hot stock so that they are about half covered.
Cover and braise over a medium to low heat for 1 to 1.5 hours, carefully turning several times so that they cook evenly.
Remove the rolls and, if you wish, the bacon as well. Season the braising liquid with the tomato purée, ketchup and a dash of seasoning sauce. If the sauce is too thin, stir the flour paste into the boiling liquid and bring briefly to the boil.
Return the rolls to the sauce and heat them through once more. They taste even better reheated the next day.

Drink with it

Vodka · excellent match
Clear vodka, neat and ice-cold from the freezer
Cold and clear, it clears the fat of the mince and bacon between bites; in Poland it belongs with this dish.
What Is Vodka? Raw Materials, Flavor, and Cocktails
Pale lager · excellent match
Polish lager or pilsner, well chilled
Carbonation and light bitterness cut through the filling, while the malt picks up the sweetish tomato sauce.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Dark beer · good match
Dark lager or Schwarzbier
Light roasted notes pick up the fried smoked bacon.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue
Red wine · good match
Zweigelt or Blaufränkisch, lightly chilled
Fresh acidity and low tannin keep pace with the tomato sauce, and the berry fruit stands up to the cabbage.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing

Preparation

Cut the hard core out of the white cabbage in a wedge shape. Cook the head in a large pan of boiling salted water for about 5 minutes, turn it and leave for a further 5 to 6 minutes. The outer leaves come away once they are soft; peel them off one at a time, laying each on a plate to cool.
Parboil the rice in salted water for only 10 to 12 minutes; it should not be fully cooked yet. Drain and leave to cool.
Fry the onions in the oil in a frying pan until golden, without letting them brown. Mix with the mince and the cooled rice, season generously with salt and pepper and knead by hand into an even mixture.
For each cabbage leaf, shave down the thick middle rib so that it rolls more easily. Place two to three tablespoons of filling on the leaf, roll up once, fold in the sides and roll up tightly.
Lay the bacon slices over the base of a wide pan or deep frying pan with a lid and fry over a medium heat. Place the rolls on top, seam side down and packed closely together, and pour in the hot stock so that they are about half covered.
Cover and braise over a medium to low heat for 1 to 1.5 hours, carefully turning several times so that they cook evenly.
Remove the rolls and, if you wish, the bacon as well. Season the braising liquid with the tomato purée, ketchup and a dash of seasoning sauce. If the sauce is too thin, stir the flour paste into the boiling liquid and bring briefly to the boil.
Return the rolls to the sauce and heat them through once more. They taste even better reheated the next day.

Drink with it

Vodka · excellent match
Clear vodka, neat and ice-cold from the freezer
Cold and clear, it clears the fat of the mince and bacon between bites; in Poland it belongs with this dish.
What Is Vodka? Raw Materials, Flavor, and Cocktails
Pale lager · excellent match
Polish lager or pilsner, well chilled
Carbonation and light bitterness cut through the filling, while the malt picks up the sweetish tomato sauce.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?
Dark beer · good match
Dark lager or Schwarzbier
Light roasted notes pick up the fried smoked bacon.
Which beer goes with food? More than just pils with barbecue
Red wine · good match
Zweigelt or Blaufränkisch, lightly chilled
Fresh acidity and low tannin keep pace with the tomato sauce, and the berry fruit stands up to the cabbage.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosing

Polish-style stuffed cabbage rolls (Gołąbki)

Preparation

Drink with it

Clear vodka, neat and ice-cold from the freezer

Polish lager or pilsner, well chilled

Dark lager or Schwarzbier

Zweigelt or Blaufränkisch, lightly chilled

This pairs well too.

Chebureki (Fried Minced-Meat Turnovers)

Labskaus (North German corned beef and potato hash)

Pelmeni with Sour Cream

Solyanka (Soljanka)

Polish-style stuffed cabbage rolls (Gołąbki)

Preparation

Drink with it

Clear vodka, neat and ice-cold from the freezer

Polish lager or pilsner, well chilled

Dark lager or Schwarzbier

Zweigelt or Blaufränkisch, lightly chilled

This pairs well too.

Chebureki (Fried Minced-Meat Turnovers)

Labskaus (North German corned beef and potato hash)

Pelmeni with Sour Cream

Solyanka (Soljanka)