Golumpki

Ingredients

• 1 whole head cabbage (about 4 pounds)
• Salt (for salting boiling water)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 large onion (chopped)
• 1 lb ground beef
• ½ lb ground pork
• 1½ cups cooked rice
• 1 tsp garlic (finely chopped)
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 1½ cups beef stock
• Garnish: 1 cup sour cream

Directions

• Prepare the cabbage
  1. Fill a large pot with water, bring to a boil, and salt it.
  2. Remove the core from the cabbage by cutting around it and discard it.
  3. Place the cabbage in the boiling water. Cover and cook until leaves are softened enough to remove individual leaves. (About 3 minutes.)
  4. When leaves are cool enough to handle, cut away the thick center stem from each leaf. Be careful to not cut all the way through.
  5. After retrieving 18 leaves, chop the remaining cabbage and place it in the bottom of a casserole dish or Dutch oven with a lid.
• Make the filing
  1. Heat up a large skillet, melt the butter, and add the chopped onion. Cook until tender and remove from the heat to let them cool off.
  2. Mix the cooled onions with the beef, pork, cooked rice, garlic, salt, and black pepper until well combined. Don’t overmix or the meat will become tough.
• Assemble the rolls
  1. Flatten a cabbage leaf on a cutting board or work surface and place about ½ cup of the meat filling.
  2. Fold sides of leaf over meat then roll along stem from the center to the outside edge of the leaf.
  3. Repeat for each leaf.
• Cook and serve
  1. Heat oven to 350°
  2. Place the cabbage rolls, seam down, on top of the chopped cabbage. Season each layer with salt and pepper.
  3. Pour the beef stock over the rolls, cover, and place in the oven.
  4. Bake for 1 hour or until cabbage is tender and meat is cooked.
  5. Serve with a drizzle of sour cream, or alternatively, mix the pan juices with the sour cream and ladle it over the cabbage rolls.