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On plenty of American streets a few generations back, there were grandmothers from four different countries who all made the same dish, each under a different name, and each certain that the other three were doing it wrong. Golumpki in the Polish houses. Halupki in the Slovak ones. Holubtsi in the Ukrainian ones. And stuffed cabbage for everyone who had given up explaining.
Under all the names it is the same honest thing: ground beef and cooked rice, seasoned with grated onion, rolled in a softened cabbage leaf and baked low and long in tomato sauce. The filling is close kin to stuffed peppers. The cabbage just makes it sweeter.
This version uses a tomato sauce balanced with a little brown sugar and lemon juice. It bakes for an hour and a half under tight foil, and it is better the next day. All four grandmothers agreed on that, and on nothing else.
Why this stuffed cabbage rolls works
- The rib shaved down. The thick center rib of each leaf is trimmed flat, so the leaf rolls tightly without cracking and cooks as tender as the rest.
- Cooked rice in the filling. Rice that is already cooked keeps the filling soft and light, and leaves the sauce alone.
- Grated onion. Grated rather than chopped, the onion melts into the meat and moistens the whole roll.
- Tight foil, long bake. Covered for the full 1 hour 30 minutes, the rolls braise in their sauce. The cabbage ends up fork-tender and the sauce thick and sweet.
Ingredients
Makes 12 rolls, enough for 6 people at two rolls each. US cups with grams in brackets.
For the rolls
- 1 large head green cabbage (about 3 pounds, 1.4kg)
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (680g), 80 to 85 percent lean
- 1 cup cooked white rice (about 160g), cooled
- 1 medium yellow onion, grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the sauce
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes (28 ounces, 794g)
- 1 can tomato sauce (15 ounces, 425g)
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar (25g)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (30ml)
One cup of cooked rice comes from 1/3 cup of raw long-grain rice (65g). Choose a big, loose head of cabbage: the large outer leaves are the ones you want.
How to make stuffed cabbage rolls
The cabbage
- Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the core out of the cabbage with a sharp paring knife, going in at an angle all around it. Lower the whole head into the boiling water, core side down.
- As the outer leaves soften and loosen, after 2 to 3 minutes, peel them off one at a time with tongs and lift them out to drain on a clean towel. Keep going until you have 12 good leaves. Take the rest of the cabbage out and set it aside.
- Lay each leaf flat, rib side up, and shave down the thick rib with a knife held flat against the leaf, until the rib is level with the rest. The leaf should now bend without snapping.
The filling and the sauce
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, the cooked rice, the grated onion with its juice, the egg, the salt and the pepper. Mix with your hands just until combined.
- In a second bowl, stir together the crushed tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the brown sugar and the lemon juice. Spread about 1 cup of this sauce over the bottom of a deep 9x13 inch baking dish.
Rolling and baking
- Put a handful of filling, about 1/3 cup, near the stem end of a leaf. Fold the stem end over the filling, fold the two sides in, and roll it up like an envelope. Set it seam side down in the dish. Repeat with the rest, packing the rolls snugly side by side.
- Pour the rest of the sauce over everything. Chop any leftover cabbage, about 2 cups, and scatter it on top.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil, crimping it all around the rim. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the cabbage cuts easily with the side of a fork.
- Let the rolls rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. Serve two to a plate with plenty of sauce spooned over, and mashed potatoes or buttered rye bread alongside.
Tips that make the difference
- The freezer trick: freeze the whole head of cabbage the night before and let it thaw on the counter. The leaves come off soft and ready to roll, with no boiling at all. Some cooks call it cheating.
- If the inner leaves are too small, overlap two of them and roll them as one.
- Make sure the rice is cool before it goes into the beef. Hot rice starts to cook the meat and the egg, and the filling turns pasty.
- Seal the foil properly. If steam escapes, the sauce reduces too far and the top rolls dry out.
Variations
- On the stove. Layer the rolls in a Dutch oven lined with spare cabbage leaves, pour the sauce over, cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Slow cooker. Stack the rolls seam side down with the sauce and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.
- Sweeter and more sour. Raise the brown sugar and the lemon juice to 3 tablespoons each and add 1/3 cup of golden raisins to the sauce. This is the old deli style.
- Unstuffed. Brown the beef and onion in a big pot, add the chopped cabbage, the raw rice, the sauce and 2 cups of water, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Storage and make-ahead
Cabbage rolls keep for 4 days in the refrigerator, in their sauce, in a covered container. Reheat covered at 325°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or in a covered skillet over low heat with a splash of water.
To make ahead, assemble the whole dish, cover it and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the oven time since it starts cold.
They freeze very well, baked, for up to 3 months. Freeze them in their sauce. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat, covered.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between golumpki, halupki and holubtsi?
The name, mostly. They are the Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian words for the same stuffed cabbage roll. Each family’s sauce differs a little.
Can I put raw rice in the filling?
This recipe is built on cooked rice, which gives a softer filling and a thicker sauce. If you only have raw rice, parboil it for 8 minutes and drain it first. Fully raw rice can stay hard in the center of the roll.
Why are my cabbage leaves tough?
The rolls were not baked long enough or the foil was not tight. Cabbage needs the full 1 hour 30 minutes of covered, steamy heat. An unshaved rib also gives a tough bite.
Can I use savoy cabbage?
Yes. Savoy leaves are thinner and more flexible, they need only a minute in the boiling water and they roll beautifully.
Whatever name they went by on your street, they tasted like this. Make the full dish even for two people, because the second day is the best one, and the freezer takes care of the rest.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Beef and Rice in Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce)
Old-fashioned stuffed cabbage rolls: ground beef and rice rolled in tender cabbage leaves and baked for 1 hour 30 minutes under foil in a tomato sauce with brown sugar and lemon. Golumpki, halupki, holubtsi, all the same good dish.
Ingredients
- 1 large head green cabbage
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (680g), 80 to 85 percent lean
- 1 cup cooked white rice (about 160g), cooled
- 1 medium yellow onion, grated
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the core out of the cabbage with a sharp paring knife, going in at an angle all around it. Lower the whole head into the boiling water, core side down.
- As the outer leaves soften and loosen, after 2 to 3 minutes, peel them off one at a time with tongs and lift them out to drain on a clean towel. Keep going until you have 12 good leaves. Take the rest of the cabbage out and set it aside.
- Lay each leaf flat, rib side up, and shave down the thick rib with a knife held flat against the leaf, until the rib is level with the rest. The leaf should now bend without snapping.
- Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, the cooked rice, the grated onion with its juice, the egg, the salt and the pepper. Mix with your hands just until combined.
- In a second bowl, stir together the crushed tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the brown sugar and the lemon juice. Spread about 1 cup of this sauce over the bottom of a deep 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Put a handful of filling, about 1/3 cup, near the stem end of a leaf. Fold the stem end over the filling, fold the two sides in, and roll it up like an envelope. Set it seam side down in the dish. Repeat with the rest, packing the rolls snugly side by side.
- Pour the rest of the sauce over everything. Chop any leftover cabbage, about 2 cups, and scatter it on top.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil, crimping it all around the rim. Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the cabbage cuts easily with the side of a fork.
- Let the rolls rest, still covered, for 10 minutes. Serve two to a plate with plenty of sauce spooned over, and mashed potatoes or buttered rye bread alongside.
