Big beautiful heads of savoy cabbage are in the local markets now — time to make some traditional pork and rice or vegetarian kasha cabbage rolls. Try my recipes!
By CINDA CHAVICH
When a friend recently asked me about vegetarian fillings for traditional cabbage rolls, I immediately thought of kasha, the smoked wholegrain buckwheat groats that cook up into the perfect pilaf for meatless rolls.
I had a bag of kasha in the cupboard (don't we all?) and thought I'd make one of my favourite old-fashioned recipes for a buckwheat pilaf with lots of sauteed onions and fall mushrooms. And when I spied these gorgeous big heads of savoy cabbage at a local farm shop, I decided to combine both for a fall feast of cabbage rolls.
WRAP AND ROLL
I usually make cabbage rolls as my mother does — with a pound of ground pork mixed with some raw rice, chopped onion and garlic. Rolled up into steamed cabbage leaves (my mom prefers flat cabbage — aka Taiwanese cabbage — as the leaves are soft and easy to roll), then simmered for an hour or so on the stovetop (or in the oven) with tomato sauce, this Ukrainian specialty (aka holubtsi) makes a satisfying one-dish meal.
My mom packs the cabbage rolls into a dutch oven, then pours tomato juice over the top to cook her cabbage rolls — I often substitute tomato puree (passata) and water as its always in the pantry. The idea is that the tomato juice will both braise the cabbage until its tender, and cook the meat/rice filling, while reducing down to create a rich, meaty tomato sauce to serve over the cabbage rolls.
When stuffed with something that's already cooked — like the kasha and mushroom pilaf that filled half of the cabbage rolls I made this week — the cabbage packages cook quickly, simmered in the tomato juice until they're soft, sweet and delicious.
The crinkly savoy cabbage, with its deeply veined leaves, is definitely beautiful but it can be trickier to roll. You'll definitely want to steam and soften the leaves first, either blanched in a pot of boiling water or in a covered dish with a little water in the microwave. If you cut the core out of the cabbage first, it makes separating the leaves easier later.
A flat cabbage has a tighter form, and the thinner, smooth leaves are more difficult to separate without tearing (just takes a little more time), but they're a bit easier to roll.
Once you have the leaves separated and lightly blanched to soften, slice away part of the thick central stem at the base.
Place a few tablespoons of either the meat or kasha filling at the base of the leaf, roll the cabbage over the filling, then fold in the sides to enclose it (like an envelope), before continuing to roll into a fairly tight package.
Arrange the rolls in a heavy dutch oven or covered casserole dish, seam side down, packing them fairly tightly together (I like to put the chopped stems and a torn leaf or two in the bottom of the pot first, to make sure the rolls don't stick).
Then pour in the tomato juice (or sauce and water), bring to a boil on top of the stove, cover and simmer on low for an hour or two (or place the covered dish into a 325F oven to bake), until the rolls are cooked through and tender. If you need to, remove the lid to reduce the braising liquid before serving.
And that's it — cabbage rolls 101.
VEGETARIAN VARIATIONS
My friend had asked about what to use in a vegetarian version of this traditional European dish, one that's rooted in Germany, Poland, Romania and, of course, Ukraine.
A little additional research reminded me that many people use only cooked rice and onions in their cabbage rolls, a variation on my kasha filling. Sometimes the rice filling is seasoned with dill and sometimes chopped ham or cooked bacon is added.
In some cases, cooked buckwheat groats (or toasted kasha) replaces the rice in a ground meat filling, which can be just pork or a combination of ground pork and beef. I've even used ground turkey to make ultra lean cabbage rolls, with raw rice and chopped onions.
Paging through my favourite vintage Canadian cookbook — Traditional Ukrainian Cookery by Savella Stechishin (1957) — I even discovered other meatless stuffing recipes, including a bread and mushroom filling, and a potato filling for cabbage rolls, the former made with bread crumbs, sauteed onions and mushrooms, egg, dill and sour cream; and the other with grated potato, onions, buckwheat groats and sour cream.
Though tomato juice is a popular braising liquid, sometimes the rolls are cooked with salted water or broth, then finished with a mixture of sour cream and flour to create a creamy sauce.
ORIGIN STORIES
Stuffed cabbage rolls are definitely an Eastern European tradition, and one that's rooted in the Canadian prairies as a result of early immigration to this part of the world, but you'll also find similar stuffed leafy vegetables in Swedish cuisine, grape leaf rolls with rice filling in Greek dolmades, Jewish holishkes, Bulgarian zelevi sarmia with paprika and minty yogurt sauce, and even a steamed Asian cabbage roll with a pork, mushroom and water chestnut filling that's similar to those used in egg rolls or steamed Chinese pork dumplings.
Once you start wrapping and rolling cabbage leaves, its time to get creative.
As food writer and historian Elisabeth Luard writes, it was the Turks — once rulers of the sprawling Ottoman Empire from Persia and Arabia to the Balkans — who first spread their love of stuffed leaves or dolma across Europe, but the recipe can also be found in ancient Greek writings, too.
In Ukrainian, as Stetchison notes, "holubtsi" translates to "little pigeons" and is an important dish for festive occasions (we often had cabbage rolls with holiday turkey dinners). The meatless version — with rice or kasha inside — is served on Christmas Eve or during Lent.
Some Polish cooks start with leaves from sour cabbage rather than fresh, for a kraut-like tang. And in summer, the cabbage is replaced with other leaves, with large beet leaves, spinach or even lettuce being used for this economical, waste-not peasant dish that truly exceeds the sum of its parts.
So when you see the fresh local cabbages piled in the markets this fall, think outside the coleslaw box and roll up some tasty stuffed cabbage.
It might become a fall and winter tradition in your family, too!
RECIPES:
CLASSIC CABBAGE ROLLS WITH PORK
This is the way my mom and grandmother always made cabbage rolls at home, with ground pork and rice, braised in tomato juice. I don't often have tomato juice in the pantry but there's always a can of pureed tomatoes or passata which can be combine with water or broth for the liquid requires to braise a big pot of cabbage rolls. The recipe for Kasha with Mushrooms which follows is the perfect filling for meatless cabbage rolls.
I used crinkly savoy cabbage for these cabbage rolls. It's bright green on the outside and creamy at the centre — a sweet cabbage that's dramatic with thick ribbed leaves that need to be blanched and trimmed of their thick central stems (at the base) for ease of rolling.
If you find a flattened cabbage (sometimes labelled Taiwanese Cabbage), the leaves are a little more difficult to separate from the tight head, but they're thin, smooth and easier to roll once blanched.
1 head cabbage (choose a flat or loose-leaf variety), core removed
1 lb lean ground pork 500 g
3⁄4 cup long-grain white rice 175 mL
2 cloves garlic, minced 2
1 cup minced onion 250 mL
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups tomato vegetable cocktail or tomato juice 750 mL
In a large pot of boiling water, simmer cabbage for about 10 minutes to soften the leaves for rolling. Drain well, separate the leaves and cut away any large, thick ribs; reserve ribs. Return inner leaves to the boiling water if necessary to soften them.
Remove core and chop the smallest leaves and set aside with the ribs.
Alternatively place the head of cabbage in a large bowl with a little water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2-3 minutes, stopping to remove leaves as they are softened and repeating until you have enough softened leaves for the cabbage rolls.
For the filling, in a bowl, combine ground pork, rice, garlic and onion. Season with salt and pepper.
Lay cabbage leaves on a work surface. Place 2-3 tbsp of the meat mixture at the base of each leaf (depending on the size of the leaf) and roll up, folding in the sides as you go, like an envelope. (Don’t roll them too tight — leave enough room for the rice to expand
during cooking.)
Place chopped cabbage and ribs in the bottom of a Dutch oven (or a covered casserole dish). Arrange the cabbage rolls on top, seam side down, in two layers and fairly tightly packed together (or arrange them vertically in the pot).
Pour tomato juice or vegetable cocktail over top. Bring to a simmer on the stovetop (if using pot that's safe on direct heat), then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1-1.5 hours, until the cabbage rolls are tender and the tomato juice reduced. Or place the covered Dutch oven/casserole dish into a 325F oven and bake the rolls for 60 to 90 minutes.
If you want to speed up the process, you can layer the rolls, in the same fashion, in a pressure cooker. Lock the lid in place and bring up to full pressure over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, just to maintain even pressure, and cook for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and allow pressure to drop naturally. Remove the lid, return cooker to medium-low heat and simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly.
Carefully transfer cabbage rolls to a serving dish and drizzle some of the tomato sauce over top. Makes 10-12 large rolls (more if the leaves are smaller).
KASHA WITH MUSHROOMS AND DILL
Buckwheat groats are whole grain buckwheat, a small triangular grain, and when smoked and toasted they are called kasha, the perfect ingredient for this pilaf/filling for vegetarian cabbage rolls. Just chill the pilaf before using to fill the leaves, and then simmer the rolls with tomato juice or sauce as above.
You can also serve this pilaf with grilled or roasted meats and fish, or use to it stuff other roasted vegetables, from squash and tomatoes to eggplant.
1 cup buckwheat groats (kasha) 250 mL
1 egg, lightly beaten 1
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided 25 mL
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 15 mL
1 large onion, finely chopped 1
2 cups chopped mushrooms 500 mL
1⁄2 cup chopped red bell pepper 125 mL
2 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water 500 mL
1⁄2 tsp salt 2 mL
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill, optional 30 mL
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
In a bowl, combine buckwheat and egg. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saute pan until it sizzles, then add the kasha, stirring for about 5-7 minutes, until the grains are dry and separated. Set aside.
In a heavy saucepan, heat remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the butter and the oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms and bell pepper and continue to saute until the onions and mushrooms are starting to brown.
Stir in buckwheat mixture, stock or water, and salt.
Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium-low, then simmer for 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes more.
Fluff the kasha with a fork and stir in the (optional) dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
©CindaChavich
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