You Say Golabki, I Say Golumpki
Another of Lisa's childhood food memories (of which there are startlingly few) is of stuffed cabbage. The Polish word for this dish is "golabki", but in Lisa's family (and apparently in other Polish immigrant communities in the United States) they're called "golumpki".
Ingredients:
- 1 head savoy cabbage
- 3/4 lbs. ground beef
- 3/4 lbs. ground pork
- 3/4 lbs. ground veal
- 2 cups cooked white rice (cooled to refrigerator temperature if you will not be cooking the stuffed cabbage immediately after mixing the filling)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 29-oz cans Hunt's Tomato Sauce
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
- Salt, Pepper, and Sugar to taste
 
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After removing the outer leaves, core the cabbage by cutting around the stem at an angle with a paring knife. Remove as much of the tough white flesh of the core as possible without damaging the inner leaves. |
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Place the whole cabbage, stem side down, into a pot of gently boiling salted water. |
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As the outer leaves loosen, pull them away from the head and rinse them under cold running water to stop the cooking. You may need a paring knife to cut the base of the inner leaves off what's left of the core. Give the inner leaves a little more time to soften in the pot before rinsing them. You may want to use a rubber glove; the leaves and water will be very hot. Continue this process until you have separated all but the smallest leaves; it should take about 15 minutes. |
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When the leaves are cooled, cut away the ridged part of the rib running down the center of the leaf, to make it roughly the same thickness as the rest of the leaf. This will make the leaf less rigid and easier to stuff. (Incidentally, the savoy cabbage is preferable to green cabbage precisely because its leaves are thinner, flatter, and less rigid). |
Mix together the ground meat, rice, diced onion, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce. This will be the filling for the cabbage; keep it in the refrigerator unless you are ready to stuff and cook the cabbage immediately.
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Place a trimmed leaf on a cutting board with the stem end facing away from you. Place a handful of the meat filling in a ball on the near end of the leaf. |
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Roll the near end of the leaf over the filling and toward the stem end, stopping when the filling is halfway covered. |
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Fold the sides of the leaf over the filling, tucking any excess under the side flaps. |
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Continue rolling the filling toward the stem end, holding the side flaps closed as you roll. |
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Let the cabbage roll rest on the stem end. It should hold together on its own as long as it's resting on a flat surface. |
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Use a spatula or other flat utensil to transfer the golumpki to an ovenproof pot with a lid. Season the remaining tomato sauce with salt, pepper, and sugar, and pour it over the golumpki. Cover the pot and place it in a 250-degree oven for three to four hours. |
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When the golumpki are finished, you can serve them immediately. However, they benefit from an overnight stay in the refrigerator, where the flavors can come together. Chill them quickly by refrigerating them in a shallow dish, then reheat them before service in a 350 degree oven. |
Comments
finally, I found a golumpki recipe. actually, in my family, it came out sounding more "gowumpkee."
Posted by: liz | April 16, 2004 08:29 AM
I say Cabbage Rolls.
thats what everyone i know calls them!!
Posted by: ashley | April 20, 2004 09:02 PM
My family are hardcore Polish Catholics from way back. Grandma made terrible golumpkies, but that's what we called 'em! Her chrystiki (sp?) were much, much better. How can you beat deep-fried sugary goodness?
Posted by: Kaetchen | April 26, 2004 07:23 PM
Just a note on the pronunciation golabki is spelt with Polish diacritics, so gołąbki. The l with the slash is pronounced like a w and the a with tail takes on a nasal, rounded quality like a french o. The a with a tail also takes an m sound before an adjoining consonant. So in all, the pronunciation is something like go-WOM-bki. I think it means "Little Doves" in Polish.
Posted by: Paul | May 26, 2004 05:05 PM
It is spelled golumpki, but pronounced gow-ump-kies, yes. The l makes a w sound... But yes they are amazing. Both my parents are from Poland and both are amazing cooks. I've been lucky...
Posted by: Dan | May 26, 2004 11:20 PM
My mother makes these with V8 instead of tomatos. What is the true Polish way? Does the authentic dish have mushrooms in it (as I have seen suggested in recipes over the internet)? Please email me at NathanRockford@aol.com
thanks
Posted by: Nathan | August 1, 2004 08:21 PM
my mother and grandmother always said golumki. Can you send me a polish recipe on "cabbage rolls. Thank you
Posted by: Florence | September 13, 2004 03:54 PM
In my family it we all had GO WHIMP KEY. Mom used to make it with sauerkraut in place of tomatoes....mmmmm
Posted by: Bob Sikorski Jr | September 17, 2004 07:26 PM
where can i find a recipe for golumpki?
Posted by: lori | October 31, 2004 08:34 PM
My grandmother, from Poland, used to make these with all beef - as money was tight - and also used salt pork for flavoring. Where can you get salt prok these days??? It makes all the difference in the world on taste - this is how they did it in Poland in her home.
Posted by: Paula | November 27, 2004 02:32 PM
GoWUMPkie is the pronounciation my family used, and we had them both ways: with tomato sauce, and (my favorite) with salt pork and sauerkraut or fresh diced cabbage. My mom's best were when she used whole buckwheat groats (kasha) instead of rice as the filler in the meat.
Posted by: Ed Szymanoski | January 21, 2005 02:45 PM
My husband comes from a true polish family. His mother is not so sharing with her recipes but I want to make golumpki for him on v-day. Please email me if you have a recipe for it.
Thanks
Posted by: Andrea | February 10, 2005 01:29 PM
I am proud to say I'm Polish and that my grandparents were from Poland. They called cabbage rolls gowumpkee too. My father lovingly called them "Polish Hand Grenades". Something to do with the after effects :>)
Posted by: Jill | March 26, 2005 11:27 AM
Mmmm...great food. Since everybody else seems to be adding their $0.02...my babci makes hers with Cambell's tomato soup concentrate and a touch of pork stock to loosen it, plus about 4 Tb. of grease rendered from pork fat back. Not exactly a health ingredient, but it adds that special something. Plus the leftover cracklings make a great snack food :)
Posted by: jared | June 22, 2005 04:24 PM