Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Golubtsi. Gabbage rolls.

From Wikipedia
"
Central European cabbage rolls
A cabbage roll (also stuffed cabbage or pigs in a blanket) is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the ethnic cuisines of the Balkans, as well other parts of Europe such as Finland and Sweden, and the Middle East.
In Europe, the filling is traditionally based around meat, often beef, lamb, or pork and is seasoned with garlic, onion, and spices. Grains such as rice and barley, eggs, mushrooms, and vegetables are often included. Pickled cabbage leaves are often used for wrapping, particularly in Southeastern Europe. In Asia, seafoods, tofu and shiitake mushroom may also be used and Chinese cabbage is often used as a wrapping.
Cabbage leaves are stuffed with the filling which are then baked, simmered or steamed in a covered pot and generally eaten warm, often accompanied with a sauce. The sauce varies widely by cuisine. Always in Sweden and sometimes in Finland, stuffed cabbage is served with lingonberry jam, which is both sweet and tart. In Eastern Europe, tomato-based sauces or plain sour cream are typical. In Lebanon it is a popular plate, where the cabbage is stuffed with rice and minced meat and only rolled to the size of cigar. It is usually served with a side of yogurt and a type of lemon and olive oil vinaigrette seasoned with garlic and dried mint.
Popular among European Jews, and traditionally served on Simchat Torah, stuffed cabbage is described by Gil Marks to have entered Jewish cooking some 2,000 years ago. Recipes vary among Jewish communities depending on region; Romanians and northern Poles prefer a savory sauce, while Jews from Galicia and Ukraine favor sweet-and-sour, for example."

You will need for 15-18 servings


 2  cups white rice
2 Medium Cabbages
2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
6 medium carrots, grated (4 for meat mix, 2 for sauce)
(1) 26.5 oz can of Hunts Original Style Mushroom spaghetti sauce
4 Tbsp vinegar
2-3 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 tsp seasoning you like (Veggeta would be perfect)
Salt
Directions

Cooking cabbage
 1. Rinse 2  cups white rice and cook in 4 cups water with 2 Tbsp canola oil and 1 tsp salt. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.
2. Fill 2/3 of  large soup pot with water. Bring to a boil. Add 1/2 Tbsp salt and 4 Tbsp vinegar.
3. Peal and discard the top two leaves from each cabbage. Use a knife to cut out the core of each cabbage (see picture).








4. Put first cabbage in water, cork down, for about 5 minutes, then rotate and continue cooking. You will pull off leaves as they begin to soften. (bigger leaves will be a dull green) The leaves will cook faster if they are pulled apart. Remove the leaves to a platter to cool when they are done. You know they are done when they are soft and yellowish.
5. Repeat with the second cabbage.
 Reserve about 3 cups of water from the pot.

Meat mixture preparation


6. Mix ground meats and rice together in a large bowl.
7. Grate and fry 4 carrots in 3 tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Once they are soft, add 1/4 can tomato sauce and saute another minute.
8. Add carrot mixture to rice and meat. Add 2 eggs and 1 Tbsp salt. Mix well

Stuffing and cutting cooked leaves

 9. Large leaves: cut off center (tough part) – you will end up with 2 leaves.
10. Small Leaves: cut off the surface of the center tough part, just to flatten the leaf.
11. Fill each cabbage leaf with about 2 Tbsp meat mixture (or as much as you can fit – leaf sizes vary)
12. Large leaves: Roll the leaf into a cone shape and stuff the wide part into the top

Sauce

 14. Heat 2 Tbsp canola oil. Saute 2 grated carrots with 1 tsp vegeta. Stir until soft. Add 1 Tbsp sour cream and 3/4 cup tomato sauce. Saute another minute and remove from heat.
15. As you stuff your cabbage, arrange them either in the same pot you used to cook the cabbage . Pour sauce over the Golubtsi and add enough reserved water to almost cover them (2 1/2 to 3 cups).

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