Stuffed Cabbage (a.k.a. Golubtsi / Holubtsi / Halupki / Golumpki)

00:00 Intro
00:31 Blanching the Cabbage and Cooking Rice
02:42 The Filling
05:32 Stuffing the Cabbage Leaves
06:25 The Sauce
08:00 Baking
08:31 Browning and Serving

Serves 6

1 large head of green cabbage (about 4 Lb / 1.8kg)
1/2 cup (100g) jasmine rice
220g carrots (2 medium)
190g yellow onion (1 medium), coarsely chopped
100g celery rib (1 medium), coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

Remove the core from the cabbage. Bring a large oven safe pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Add the cabbage and cook turning frequently. Every 30 seconds or so remove a leaf from the cabbage and set it on a baking sheet to cool. When the leaves become very small, fish out the remaining cabbage from the water (use it in some other dish). Add the rice to the water. Boil for 10 min. Drain and rinse under cold water. The rice will go into the filling.
When the cabbage is cool enough to handle, trim the thick ribs to make the leaves flat. Chop the ribs to add to the filling.

Fit a food processor with a grating disk and grate the carrots (set aside for the sauce). Fit a food processor with a chopping blade and process the onion, celery, garlic, and butter until finely chopped. Put into a large bowl to use in the filling.

Filling:
1/4 cup cold water
10g unflavored gelatin (3.5 tsp)
Pureed onions, celery, garlic, and butter from above
2 Lb (900g) meatloaf mix (or half beef, half pork)
Chopped cabbage ribs
Parcooked rice from above
30g panko bread crumbs (1/3 cup)
Black pepper
13g salt or to taste

Bloom gelatin in water for 5 min, then microwave in 10 sec intervals just until dissolved. Add the liquid gelatin to the bowl with pureed veggies and butter. The gelatin step is optional, especially if you are using a meatloaf mix, but very helpful if using only beef or pork. Add all the other filling ingredients and mix thoroughly with hands (or with a paddle attachment of a stand mixer).

Stuff the cabbage leaves with the filling starting with the biggest leaves. When you get to the smaller leaves, use 2 for one roll. If you have leaves leftover, reserve 34 leaves to cover the top of the cabbage when baking and chop up the rest to use in the sauce.

Sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more as needed
Chopped up remaining cabbage leaves
Grated carrots from above
190g diced yellow onion (1 medium)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
750g canned or diced chopped tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 325F (165C).
Set the pot you used to blanch the cabbage over high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped up cabbage and cook without stirring until brown. Stir and let it brown again. Repeat a few times until the cabbage is nicely brown. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, a pinch of salt, and another 12 Tbsp olive oil to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and cook stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent and the vegetables start to brown. Add the garlic and cook stirring occasionally for 12 minutes. Add the wine, tomatoes, sugar, pomegranate molasses and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer. Stir in the browned chopped up cabbage.

Remove most of the sauce from the pot leaving a thin layer. Arrange the stuffed cabbage tightly in the pot. You’ll end up with 2 layers. Pour the sauce on top. Cover with the remaining cabbage leaves and a lid or foil. Bring to a simmer on the stove top. Bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour or until the cabbage is tender and the filling reaches 160F (71C). Make sure to check the top middle rolls since they’ll be the coolest.

Serve as is, or for best results, cool completely and refrigerate overnight, then brown.

Browning and serving:
Remove the cabbage rolls from the sauce, and dry well on paper towels. Set a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp of butter + 1 tsp of olive oil for every 3 cabbage rolls. When the butter is melted and the foam starts to subside, place the cabbage rolls in the skillet, cover and cook until brown, about 5 min. Regulate the heat so that they don’t brown too fast. Flip, cover, and brown the other side. Flip again, add the sauce, cover and cook until the sauce is bubbly and the filling is at least 130F (55C). Place the stuffed cabbage on a serving plate. Reduce the sauce until syrupy. Taste and correct for salt. Pour over the stuffed cabbage and serve with sour cream and dill.

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