Golubtsy

Blog's Category: My Staple Food, USSR-era Recipes

Intro
Golubtsy, Stuffed Cabbage, Pig-In-A-Blanket are all the same thing: ground meat (with or without rice) wrapped into cabbage leaves and cooked. This dish is one of the must items on the Ukrainian celebratory gatherings. I remember my mom cooking it, my grandma and I'm sure mom of mom of my mom were cooking it. It is used to be my favorite dish before I converted to vegetarianism (sigh). Must be because it is really time consuming affair, my folks are not spoiled by me serving Golubtsy on a regular basis. But whenever time, my mood, special occasion or other factors cross their ways, my people are ready to enjoy this very traditional Eastern European dish - Golubtsy.

Variations
- Usually it's pork, beef, or its combination is used as meat part of filling. But it's totally acceptable to use ground chicken instead.
- Cooked rice, onion, sometimes grated carrots are parts of the filling. All this can be omitted, although rice, in my opinion, the must. It makes filling soft and tender - you have to be able to cut piece of it with your fork (well, I'm "eating neatly" freak so I definitely prefer to use knife anyway :)) So, rule # 1 - Golubtsy has to be soft.
- Traditionally, it's tomato sauce that golubtsy has to be cooked. But I know some Ukrainian cooks who add sour cream to the tomato sauce. I prefer to drop generous spoon of sour cream when serving golubtsy.
- Whenever I make traditional golubtsy, I do vegetarian version of it for my daughter and myself, substituting ground meat with mushrooms or even with crabmeat.

Taste Description
This is a hearty, filling and, at the same time, light comfort food. It's strange that word "light" comes to my mind when I want to describe the taste - must be because it has very soft, not spicy, soothing texture. I would compare it, taste and texture-wise, to Swedish meatballs plus cooked, soaked in tomato sauce, cabbage.

How to Serve
It has to be served hot, with a dollop of cold sour cream on top. Sour cream, tempering acidic tomato sauce and temperature of Golubtsy, is a perfect pairing to this dish. As I mentioned above, it's easier to use knife and fork even if you are still in your pajama at the kitchen counter :)

Golubtsy

1 medium cabbage
3 lb ground beef, or pork, or both
3 cups of cooked rice
3 onions, 2 of them chopped, 1 - finely grated or processed
1 small can tomato paste
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3-4 bay leaves
5 tbs olive oil
sour cream to garnish

- Cut out central stem of the cabbage.

- Fill your largest pot half with water and bring it to a boil. Turn heat off. Carefully put your cabbage, cut-out side down, in a pot with hot water, cover with lid and leave it alone for at least 1 hour.

- In a skillet, cook 1 chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until golden.

- For filling, thoroughly mix ground meat with rice, fried onions, finely grated (or processed) raw onion, salt and pepper.

- Remove cabbage from the water onto large tray and carefully separate leaves, one by one, from the cabbage.

- Start to make golybtsy - place 1-3 tbs (depending on size of the cabbage leaf) of meat mix in the center of a leaf. Fold leaf edges and roll it up forming Golubtsy (see pictures below)

- Place cabbage wraps tightly in a large pot.

- Make tomato sauce - fry remaining onions in an olive oil until soft, add tomato paste and enough water to create enough sauce to cover all your Golubtsy. It may take about 5-6 cups of water. Stir well, add salt to taste, sugar to counter-balance tomato acid. I like my sauce on a sweeter side, you make yours to your liking. Add bay leaves.

- Pour sauce on a top of Golubtsy and place pot on a stove. Bring it to a boil. Turn heat down, cover and simmer for about 1.5 hour.

- Serve (don't forget sour cream!) and enjoy!

*********************************************************************************************************************************

IN PICTURES

Leaves are softened up after standing in a hot water for an hour.

Beat it up nicely, no pity :)

I've made batch with vegetarian filling - rice, crabmeat (imitation :)), blanched spinach, egg and seasonings. I cooked vegetarian Golubtsy in a separate pot.

It takes some practice to separate leaves. No worries, if some leaves are torn, just do your best wrapping stuffing in it.

This step is optional - I like to cut off thick part of a leaf.

Usually I have some filling left, so I make meatballs and cook them in the same pot.

Making sauce...

Sauce is done.

Sauce is poured over. All hard work is over (as well :)). Now you just need your stove to finish up the dish.

.. and this is how it looks after cooking - appetizing :)

This is a pot with my vegetarian golubtsy.

Juicy, softly melting in your mouth - what a treat!

Vegetarian one - still great!