Stuffed Cabbage Rolls is another very popular dish in Slavic cuisine. I’m sure every Russian, Belarussian, Ukranian family cooks them and has some special secrets in the recipe. We call the dish “golubtsy”.  Usually, we cook it for a special occasion, let’s say for a family weekend gathering, or if guests are coming to visit. So, we cook a big pot that everyone will have as many golubtsy as they can eat 🙂 and there would be some leftover for tomorrow or even for the day after tomorrow – usually leftovers taste much better 🙂 It will take several hours to prepare this dish, but it is totally worth the time. Hot golubtsy served with sour cream and fresh bread are absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium cabbages
• 1/2 cup white rice
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 lb ground chicken (you can also use ground beef)
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup half and half
• 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 8 oz can tomato sauce

Cooking Directions:

1. First, you will need to prepare the cabbage. Into a big pot, pour about a half pot of water and bring it to a boil. In meantime, cut out the core of each cabbage with a sharp knife. Carefully place the cabbage to a boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes, rotate the cabbage as it cooks. You will need to pull the leaves apart as they cook and remove from the pot those which were on the top of the cabbage and already cooked;  while those which were in the middle still need to be cooked for several more minutes. Once all leaves are pre-cooked, remove them from the pot and let totally cool down.
2. While leaves are cooling down, rinse the rice under running water and pre-cook it in 2 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes. No need to fully cook the rice – it has to be just pre-cooked. If some liquid remains in the rice, drain it.
3. In a large bowl, mix together ground pork, ground chicken, rice, finely minced onion, freshly ground black pepper and one teaspoon of salt. I have two secrets which help to make stuffing more tender and juicy. First: I add half and half to the stuffing. Second: I finely mince 2-3 cabbage leaves and add them to the stuffing, too. Now, mix all stuffing ingredients together well.
4. We are not done with the leaves yet 🙂 They are cooled down by now. Remove a couple of top leaves and set them aside – we will use them later. With a sharp knife, remove a thick part of the stem from the leaf – it will make each leaf kind of evenly thick.  Now leaves are ready to be stuffed.
5. Place for about two tablespoons of the meat stuffing (or as much as you can fit depending on the leaf size) on the top of each leaf (the top is where the stem was)  and roll it a little bit until the meat is just covered by the leaf. Now, roll over both sides of the leaf to secure them; then roll over the rest of the leaf – so, you get the cone-shaped golubtsy.
6. Place those two top leaves which we set aside on the bottom of a large pot or a dutch oven – they will protect our golubtsy from the bottom. Arrange prepared golubtsy into the pot seams down toughly to each other.
7. Prepare the sauce. Mix together well 1/2 cup of sour cream, 8 oz can tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 tsp of salt.
8. First, evenly pour 1/2 cup of water to the pot over the assembled stuffed cabbage rolls – so, it covers the bottom of the pot which will prevent the golubtsy from burning when they start cooking. Then, pour the sauce evenly over the top. Cover the top with a flat dish, so it keeps the rolls tight while they cook. Now, cover the pot with a lid.
9. Start cooking on a medium heat for about 10-15 minutes until the sauce starts to boil, then cook for about 1 1/2 hour on a low heat or until golubtsy are absolutely tender. You can check with a fork.

Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and fresh bread. I’m sure you like them 😉