Best Real Ukrainian Cabbage Rolls Recipes

CABBAGE ROLLS "GOLUBTSI"

Steps:

• Freeze the cabbages 3 days before you need it. The night before defrost cabbage and keep them in the fridge until you are ready.
• Cook rice in plenty water the same way you would pasta until al dente for approximately 5 minutes after the water boils. It shouldn't be too soft. Drain and set aside.
• In a frying pan heat olive oil and cook onions over low heat for 7-10 minutes until tender.
• Grate carrots. In a large bowl combine beef, pork, parsley, onions, carrots, rice, salt and pepper.
• In a medium bowl whisk together stock, crushed tomatoes and creme fraiche, salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Place your head of cabbage on a cutting board, cut off the bottom and pull the leaves away from the stalk. Repeat with the second head of cabbage.
• Preheat your oven to 350F/180C.
• Clear your work space, so all ingredients are within reach. Take a cabbage leaf and cut the rib down, so it's not too thick. Put 2 tbsp of filling at the bottom of the wide part of a leaf (see picture above) and roll it like a burrito, tucking sides in. Your cabbage rolls will vary in size slightly depending on the size of cabbage leaves. You will have approximately 30-32 cabbage rolls.
• Pour a cup of the sauce on the bottom of your cast iron casserole or any other heavy bottom casserole and start stacking your cabbage rolls. Half way through add a couple of bay leaves and 1/3 of the sauce and continue stacking until all cabbage rolls are gone.
• Pour the remaining sauce over cabbage rolls, cover with a lid and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Then take the lid off and bake for 30 more minutes. Serve with additional sour cream or creme fraiche and fresh herbs like dill and parsley.

UKRAINIAN CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
• Steam the whole head of cabbage until it is al dente. Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent; stir into cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cut the leaves off of the cabbage and cut the larger leaves in half. Spoon 1 tablespoon of rice into a leaf and roll tightly. Place rolls in prepared casserole dish, stacking in layers. Pour tomato juice over the rolls, using enough just to cover.
• Cover and bake in preheated oven for 2 hours.

REAL UKRAINIAN CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Take core out of center of cabbage.
• Place head of cabbage in a large pot of Boiling water, cored side down. Cover and simmer as the leaves become pliable remove with tongs and place in a colander that has been placed on a cookie sheet to catch excess water.
• When done removing all the leaves that can be used, (there will be the center of the cabbage that is too small for use, but do save it!).
• Place leaves on a cutting board and shave down the "vein" or if the leaf is large enough cut in half on either side of it.
• Dice bacon and onion and place in a frying pan cook until tender but bacon is not crisp.( DO NOT DRAIN OFF FAT!)Cook rice as pkg. directs BUT remove from heat while rice still has a hard kernel in the center.
• Add rice and bacon mixture together along with the garlic, dill and the veg oil.
• Place a spoonful (tbsp) in center of leaf tuck in the sides and roll.
• Place in a foil pan or roaster until all leaves etc. are done.
• To bake either use enough water to just cover the rolls or for a different taste, mix one can tomato soup (AYLMERS is best) with i/4 can water and pour over top. Use the leftover cabbage leaves from the core to put over top to prevent scorching; cover with foil.
• Bake at 325°F for 1.5 to 2 hours.

BONNIE'S UKRAINIAN CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• 1. Cook the rice and set aside (3-4 c. after cooking) 2. Core the cabbages well, removing the heart and the dense, curled centre leaves with a strong spoon. 3. Set cabbages, hollow side down, in a large baking pan in 1-2 inches of water. Cover and steam/ boil them in a 400 degree oven for about 60-90 minutes. Every 10-15 minutes, remove the outer leaves that are becoming transparent and pliable, BEFORE they become fully cooked, thready and fragile. Slice away the back of the heavy centre vein on each cooked leaf, so the leaf is whole (Not cut down the spine) and 'roll-able' but of uniform thickness (no ridged spine) 4. Set aside each prepared leaf and wait for the other leaves as you prepare the filling 5. Combine all "Filling" ingredients together and stir well. The mixture will be sloppy, but will form a mound when dropped from a large spoon. Fill each leaf with about 2 T of filling. Roll core end once over filling - fold in ends - finish rolling. Poke finger into each end to secure the loose ends of the leaf. Use outside leaves on bottom of roaster to prevent scorching. Put end of rolled leaf towards bottom. Cover rolls with sauce (see recipe above) Cover with loose (raw or steamed) cabbage leaves and cores. Protect your oven with a large oven liner on the rack just below the roaster Bake at 375 F for about 6-8 hours, or until outer protective cabbage leaves are dark and scorched. To test for doneness, the largest cabbage roll, from the centre of the pan, should cut with a fork. Keep cooking until this is the case. When caabage is out of season, old, or heavily veined, longer cooking times are required.

UKRAINIAN MEAT FILLED CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee onion in butter until tender. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool. When the onion is cool enough to handle, mix together the ground pork, bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper until well blended.
• Place the head of cabbage in a large pot, and add enough water to cover the cabbage halfway. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 minutes. As the outer leaves become translucent and soft, remove them one at a time by peeling them off with a wooden spoon. Trim off the thick ribs at the leaf stem.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish, and line the bottom with outer cabbage leaves. Lay a few more leaves on a clean work surface. Place a large spoonful of the pork mixture at the base of each leaf. Roll up towards the top. Repeat until filling is used up. Arrange the finished rolls over the leaves in the dish, and pour in just enough broth to cover the rolls. Place extra cabbage leaves over the top.
• Cover, and bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. When finished, drain off broth from the dish into a small saucepan. Whisk together the flour and sour cream. Gradually stir the sour cream into the broth. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until heated, about 5 minutes.
• To serve, arrange cabbage rolls on a platter, cover with sauce and sprinkle with dill. This goes perfectly with homemade noodles, or millet kasha.

UKRAINIAN CABBAGE ROLLS WITH MUSHROOMS AND MUSHROOM SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare the rice according to the directions on the package.
• Remove the core from the cabbage and place the full head in a large pot of boiling water.
• Cover and cook for about 3 minutes.
• Remove the cabbage from the water and let cool until it's easy to handle.
• Then remove the softened whole leaves from the head and stack them on a platter for filling.
• Thin out the tough vein near the stem portion of the leaf to make easier rolling.
• Prepare the mushroom filling by placing the dried and bottled mushrooms in a medium saucepan.
• Cover with water and bring the mushrooms to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Reduce the heat to simmer and continue to cook the mushrooms for about 1 hour.
• Strain off the liquid and grind the mushrooms in a food processor or blender.
• Meanwhile, melt two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the two medium chopped onions until transparent, about 5 minutes.
• Mix the two medium sautéed onions with the mushrooms and a dash of salt and pepper to taste.
• Sauté the one large chopped onion in two tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat until transparent.
• Add the mushroom filling and cooked rice to the large fried onion.
• Line the bottom of a casserole dish with cabbage leaves not suitable for stuffing.
• Save about 6 good, whole leaves and fill the stem portion of each leaf with 2 or 3 heaping tablespoons of the rice mixture.
• Place the stuffed leaves seam-side down in the casserole dish.
• PREPARE THE MUSHROOM SAUCE by melting two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Sauté the 1/4 cup chopped onions until tender.
• Add the one cup of freshly chopped mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and blend well.
• Slowly pour in the broth and stir constantly until the mixture thickens.
• Remove from the heat source and stir in the parsley, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Let the sauce cool a bit, then add the sour cream and blend well.
• Cover the stuffed cabbages with the mushroom sauce and bake the casserole, uncovered, in a 350-F degree oven for one to one-and-a-half hours.
• Serve warm.
• Makes a great companion for plain roast beef.