Stuffed Cabbage {kapusta faszerowana}
Stuffed cabbage {kapusta faszerowana} is not what you think. I’m pretty sure you’re imagining cabbage rolls dowsed in tomato sauce baked or boiled. Stuffed cabbage is a whole head of cabbage stuffed with ground meat of choice, we’re using pork. The head is steamed to loosen up the leaves, then quartered and each quarter is stuffed with a mixture of meat, onions, garlic and spices. It’s actually easier than it sounds.
My dad told me a story about his aunt Kasia visiting him from Bytom (southern Poland) every summer. My dad was her (secretly) favorite and she always wanted to please him by making her best offerings. She prepared this stuffed cabbage for him once and he fell in love with it. When she found out that he loved is so much, she’d make it for him everyday, and he didn’t mind. He couldn’t get enough.
Today he’s teaching me how to prepare his absolute favorite dish. Together we are making stuffed cabbbage {kapusta faszerowana}.
Polish Stuffed Cabbage {kapusta faszerowana}
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cabbage
- 2 kaiser rolls (stale OK)
- 1 cup of milk
- 6 lbs ground pork shoulder
- 1 lb of ground pork belly (bacon OK, if not available)
- 2 large onions, minced
- 1 head of garlic, minced
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 tbs of salt
- 1/2 tbs ground pepper
- 1 1/5 tbs of dried marjoram
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1.5 quarts/liters of chicken or vegetable broth (or water)
Instructions
When choosing your cabbage try to pick one that's a bit soft to the touch, this means leaves are a bit looser. Place whole cabbage in a large enough pot to fit the whole thing, cover with water and boil until outer leaves are soft (young cabbage - about 5 minutes; older cabbage - about 10 minutes). Remove from water and set aside to cool. Discard water.
Place kaiser rolls in a bowl and add milk. Turn them once in a while so they soak up some of the milk and become mushy.
Place meat in a large bowl. Add minced onion and garlic, eggs and spices. Squeeze milk out of rolls and add to meet mixture. Massage mixture with your hands until well combined, for about 4-5 minutes.
Cut cabbage into quarters making sure the core keeps each quarter intact. Place each quarter on a flat surface with the cut side up and working from the center start separating leaves up and placing a little bit of the meat in between layers. Fill layers every few leaves. Once the quarter is filled secure it with string by wrapping it around each quarter. Place quarter in a pot and continue with the remaining pieces.
Pleace qarters in a pot to form a head. Add broth, cover and set to boil. Once broth starts boiling turn to medium heat and continue boiling until cabbage is soft (insert a skewer into the center to check) - about 1.5 - 2 hrs.
Serve with tomato or mushroom sauce (links to recipes below) or just as is.
Dad doesn’t make sauce to go with it, but I think either tomato sauce (my recipe here) or a mushroom sauce (my recipe here) would be awesome with it!
Happy cooking and smacznego my hungry friends!
Love,
Anna and Jurek