Recipe From Russia: Simply a Golubtsy!

Hello,

Today we are going to try a recipe of one of my very favorite foods. When you serve it rolled in cabbage leaves it always comes out delicious and fit for a king! 🙂

Golubtsy: stands for meat (any meat) wrapped in a cabbage leaf and then stewed. Yummy!

Ingredients:

1 lb – Ground meat pre-cooked (your choice – In Russia most likely pork or chicken. In America most likely ground beef.)
2 cup – cooked Rice (white)
1 medium – Onion chopped
1 nice – Carrot grated
1 large – Tomato diced
Dill, parsley, coriander, ground peppers, garlic (too taste)
A big delicious cabbage
Sour Cream

Cooking:

First, lets get the leaves of cabbage needed:
For this, take a big meat fork and punch the stub. Then put the whole thing into big pot of boiling water. Fork up of course. 🙂

As the outer leaves cook they become semi transparent, so as they cook and soften, cut them carefully at the base and slowly remove from the head (careful we are talking about boiling water and steam) and get about 10 to 15 soften cooked leaves. Set them aside on a plate to cool for later use.

Second, now the stuffing:
Take the pre-cooked ground meat and mix it with the cooked rice in a big bowl.

Then in a separate frying pan you’ll need to fry grated carrots and finely chopped onions, then add finely chopped tomatoes. Fry until onions are translucent then put in crushed garlic, herbs, salt, and ground peppers. Fry until all flavors are blended well. (About 2 – 3 minutes more)

In the big mixing bowl that has the meat and rice, add the ingredients from the fry skillet. Mix well. Let cool so that you can handle without burning yourself.

Third, Roll – em – up:
Take a cabbage leaf and lay on clean and sanitized flat surface. Add the mixture (2 tablespoons or more and more and more) that you just created in the skillet, to one end of the cabbage leaf and roll like a burrito. Tucking the sides in as you roll. That is why you must cook the cabbage leaves first.

Fourth, finish cooking them to perfection:
Just lay them tightly side by side in a big sauce pan, pour some hot water over, add a piece, no better yet a chunk, of butter or margarine and let it cook for 20 minutes on a medium fire.

Fifth, lets eat – Yummy! (Do not forget to smother in sour cream or not!)

Note:
I make these also with all raw products but find that by doing it this way, the product is a more consistent item. Instead of cabbage leaves try stuffing raw peppers and baking in the oven. You can use green, red or yellow peppers for this method.

Also if you want add onions and carrots plus any other veggie you want to to final cooking in the sauce pan. (You may want to increase cooking time if you add ingredients) This will make a soup type product. Then just serve like a soup in a big huge bowl with a daub of sour cream.

The cabbage rolls are great cold and reheated the next day also.

Windows to Russia!
Kyle and Svet

comments always welcome.