Lahanodolmades. Kaalikaaryle. Bai Cai Juan. Golabki.
It’s Lahanodolmades in Greece.
It’s Kaalikaaryle in Finland.
It’s Bai Cai Juan in China.
It’s Golabki in Poland.
Turns out, cabbage rolls are “a thing” just about everywhere. And, it’s with good reason. They are delicious!
So here is today’s cooking challenge: Buy a beautiful green winter cabbage–a big one, pick the most euphonious name from the world’s cabbage roll lexicon, and start rolling and cooking.
Personally, I’m going with the Polish Golabki. According to the Internet, Golabki is pronounced gaw-WOHMP-kee. Translated, that means little pigeon feet. I’ve always loved the sweet little pigeons who visit my garden, but, truth be told, I’m going with Golabki because the idea of keeping the WOHMP in my cabbage rolls makes me giggle.
Cabbage roll fillings are traditionally made with meat and rice (or grains like barley or bulgur) and sauced with tomatoes. You can go rogue with this recipe, though. These great rolls are made with cubed potatoes and cubed tart apples and are sauced with brown butter and walnuts.
Here is the recipe.
Cabbage Rolls Stuffed With Potatoes and Apples
Ingredients
- For The cabbage rolls:
- 2/3 pound peeled potatoes (boiled and cut into small cubes)
- 1 medium tart baking apple (peeled, cored and cut into small cubes)
- 1 T. fresh thyme leaves
- 3 ounces mascarpone
- 2 T. finely-grated Gruyere cheese
- 1 large egg
- Fine sea salt
- Coarsely ground pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- Large green cabbage leaves
- 1/2 C. dry white wine
- For the sauce:
- 1/4 C. unsalted butter
- 1 ounce walnuts (roughly chopped)
- 2 T. finely-grated Gruyere
- 1 T. fresh thyme leaves
- Coarsely ground pepper
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and prepare a baking dish by buttering it.
- Step 2 Boil potatoes until soft enough to mash but they still retain their shape. (I found that mashing some of the potatoes created a texture for the filling that was easier to stuff into the cabbage rolls.)
- Step 3 Combine potatoes (cubes and some mashed), apple cubes and thyme in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Step 4 Whisk mascarpone, grated cheese and egg together. Add to the potato mixture and stir. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- Step 5 Boil a large pot of salted water and blanche cabbage leaves for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are tender. You want the leaves to be tender and pliable. Alternatively, you can core a whole head of cabbage as I did and boil it in a large pot of salted water. Peel off the leaves
- Step 6 Once the cabbage leaves are tender, drain, rinse in cold water and then dry the leaves on paper towels. Use a knife to trim the hard ribs of the cabbage at the end of each leaf to make the leaves more pliable.
- Step 7 Lay the cabbage leaves flat on your counter and spoon some of the potato filling onto each leaf. Fold the sides over the filling and roll the leaves.
- Step 8 Put the rolled and stuffed cabbage leaves into the buttered baking dish seam side down. Pour enough white wine into the dish to cover the bottom of the dish. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 35 to 40 minutes. You can baste the rolls as they bake with some of the white wine in the baking dish. You want the rolls to be hot throughout the roll and to take on some golden color.
- Step 9 While the cabbage rolls are baking, prepare the butter and walnut sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over high heat until it is sizzling. Reduce the heat to medium and add the walnuts. Cook for 20 seconds or until the butter begins to color.
- Step 10 Serve the cabbage rolls drizzled with the walnut butter. Garnish with walnut pieces, grated cheese, thyme, pepper and a few sliced cherry tomatoes for color.
This recipe was adapted from one that appeared on The Splendid Table site. You can find the original recipe here.
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