Polish Buckwheat and Mushroom Cabbage Rolls
{Gołąbki z Kaszą Gryczaną i z Grzybami}
Making cabbage rolls is not hard, it just takes a bit of time. For a successful cabbage rolls day, plan ahead, prep your ingredients, then just add family and friends and have fun with it. Invite the kids, make some memories to keep for years. Break it up with some music and drinks and you got yourself a party.
Boil and prep the cabbage ahead of time. Here I’m trimming off the stems to allow for the leaf to fold easier.
Once the filling is done, you are ready to roll.
Traditional cabbage rolls are made with a mixture of beef and pork and rice [my recipe here] but today I’m making a different, vegetarian version made with buckwheat and mushroom filling. Gołąbki z kaszą i z grzybami [goh-wow-bkee z kah-show ee z gshyh-gah-mee] are just as delicious as the meat ones and can be served on their own (with a piece of bread) or for a full meal with boiled potatoes. Best, if served with a mushroom or a tomato sauce. In my home growing up, mom would make the tomato sauce most of the time, unless wild mushrooms were in season. Tomato sauce, with its acidity will provide a bit of variety to the overall dish, mushroom will take the earthiness and deep flavor of buckwheat further. Both worth trying.
Polish Buckwheat & Mushroom Cabbage Rolls {Gołąbki z Kaszą Gryczaną i Grzybami}
Ingredients
- 1 large savoy cabbage
- FILLING:
- 1 ½ c / 250 g of uncooked buckwheat
- 1 ½ c of diced onion (½ a large onion)
- 10 oz / 280 g of button mushrooms
- 2 tbsp / 30 g of butter
- 2 tsp of freshly ground pepper
- 2 tbsp of fresh thyme
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of granulated onion
- 1 garlic clove or 1 tsp of garlic powder
- 1 egg
Instructions
To prepare cabbage, insert a small knife around the core to remove. Some leaves may be loose.
Place the head in a large pot, with water to cover about 75% of the head, core down. Heat covered until water starts boiling. Carefully observe outer leaves and, with tongs, remove one by one when they become softened and pliable to the point that they don't break when lightly folded. You want a bit of crunch left in the leaf.
Keep unfolding cabbage leaves and removing them when they get soft, all the way to the core. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
To make the filling, cook buckwheat following instructions on the package with a teaspoon of salt. Once cooked, drain and place in a mixing bowl.
Dice onion, wash and slice mushrooms. In a medium sauté pan, heat butter, add onion and mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Sauté until golden brown around the edges. Add to buckwheat. Season with pepper, thyme, salt, granulated onion, and garlic. Taste, add a bit more salt to taste.
Add a whole egg. Mix well.
Once cabbage has cooled off, with a sharp knife, remove/shave off veins of each leaf (see picture).
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. I'm using an oblong 12 x 8 inch / 30 x 23 cm baking dish, but a square 9 x 9 inch / 22 x 22 cm will work also.
To make rolls, place as much of the filling as you think you can fit onto a cabbage leaf (it will depend on the size; for a larger one it will be about ½ cup) and fold up from the stem end of the leaf up. Fold the sides in and keep rolling until you cover all of the filling. Place in the baking dish seam down.
Once your dish is filled with rolls, cover them with the remaining leaves too small to make rolls. You want the whole surface of the cabbage rolls covered. If you don't have enough leaves to cover all rolls, use tin foil when baking.
Bake for 45 minutes. While rolls are cooking, make sauce - links to tomato and/or mushroom sauces below.
Notes
Again, serve with a sauce of your choice: a home-made tomato sauce or a mushroom sauce. I like them both, just depending on what I’m in a mood for.
Enjoy and smacznego!
Anna
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Can regular cabbage be used for the buckwheat and mushroom stuffed cabbage?…The savoy cabbage is a bit pricey.
Margie, yes, you can use regular cabbage.
I decided to get the savoy cabbage; I think it’s a bit milder than regular cabbage…Did you spray or butter the dish that you’re baking in?…Please let me know…I have everything prepped; ;however, need to know whether there is oil or butter in the baking dish…Thank you!…and thank you for this recipe!…Had to stop myself from tasting the filling this a.m…Yum!
Margie, I don’t put any grease at the bottom. You can splash a bit of stock or water to keep them moist, if you want. Good luck!
Thank you!…Can’t wait to make them in the a.m….Bringing them to work…We have a meatless Friday until Easter and this reminds me of my Babcha and Mama cooking for Christmas Eve and Good Friday…Always had the buckwheat stuffed cabbage as one of the entres.
Margie, happy cooking! Share your results please! Anna
I’m sorry I never got back to you, Anna. I made this stuffed cabbage and it was great! I will make it again next week. It will be perfect for the cold weather we will be having!
I made this recipe yesterday. I’ve never cooked buckwheat before. I followed the package directions and the consistency was like thick oatmeal. Is that the way it should be? I love the recipe and the mushroom sauce is to die for!!
Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Good job Linda! Yes, I’ve seen buckwheat cook to this consistency and it’s OK for the filling. It actually helps because it sticks together. Glad you liked the recipe. What’s next😉?
Just a note to let you know that your two sauce links are going to a 404 page and not displaying. I tried the links in the paragraph before the recipe and in the note below it. The recipe looks great though!
I can’t find the sauce links 🙁
Christine, links are under NOTES. If you have trouble finding them, go to RECIPE INDEX, then CONDIMENTS & SAUCES at the top or side menu. Happy cooking!
Hi Anna,
Thank you so much for your site. It’s really helping me reconnect with my Babi and the recipes I ate and made as a little girl.
A question about cabbage types and freezing. I’ve noticed before that the savoy tends to go a little soggy in the freezer compared to some of the others. Do you freeze your cabbage rolls and do you have a preferred cabbage when making them ahead this way?
Thanks so much!
I agree with you! Savoy is too soggy. I only freeze regular white cabbage. I also find savoy a bit bitter.
I purchased buckwheat for this recipe but the instructions for cooking it are in Polish and I do not understand Polish. Can you help me?
Sure! Place buckwheat in cold water in a medium pot with a tsp of salt, make sure there is enough water to cover plus some. Bring to boil, lower heat to low and boil for for 10-15 min. Drain when soft (each brand has a slightly different boiling time, so just check as it goes).
Can you substitute brown rice for the buckwheat in this recipe? Thanks!
Certainly! Enjoy!😊
I’m going to be making this recipe for Wigilia and I will be sharing it (along with other Wigilia staples) with my Indian husband and my German, Israeli, and Brazilian friends. Cross-cultural dinners are such a blessing.
I just lost my Mom to Alzheimer’s two weeks ago and I do not want to lose the Polish cooking traditions, as well. Thanks for the tip with the savoy cabbage! I always found the white cabbage too hard (was I the only person who only ate the stuffing as a kid?!), so I’m looking forward to the more delicate texture.
Wesołych Swiąt!