Free Recipe Wednesday! (Golumpki aka Cabbage Rolls)

Hello everyone and welcome to another Free Recipe Wednesday. Today’s recipe is something I’ve only had a couple of times before but it was super delicious. Cabbage rolls are common to the ethnic foods of many parts of Europe. My in-laws, being of Polish descent, are always making dishes I’ve never had before and this is one of those. Cabbage rolls, also known as Golumpki in the United States, are often served during the Christmas season and on festive occasions. The recipe below uses a crock pot to cook these and while they are still very good in the crock pot I feel like if you cook them in the oven, covered with foil, for 1 hour at 350 degrees they taste even better. As with most recipes, I would tweak the ingredients of this one just a bit to make them better. I think I would add ½ tsp garlic powder, more or less depending on how much you like garlic, and I would increase the amount of onion to ½ cup. I would also double the amount of sauce so you have plenty to cover the rolls with. Overall this is a good recipe just the way it is and if you like cabbage I definitely recommend you give them a try.

Golumpki (Cabbage Rolls)

• 12 Cabbage Leaves
• 1 cup Cooked White Rice
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Minced Onion
• 1 lb Extra-Lean Ground Beef
• 1 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1 (8 oz) can Tomato Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Boil cabbage leaves for 2 minutes; drain.
3. In a large bowl, combine the cooked rice, egg, milk, onion, ground beef, salt, and pepper.
4. Place about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture in the center of each cabbage leaf and roll up, tucking in the ends; place the rolls in a slow cooker.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce; pour over the cabbage rolls.
6. Cover the slow cooker and cook the cabbage rolls on Low for 8 to 9 hours.