Stuffed cabbage is one of those dishes which vary tremendously across Hungary, with each region adding, subtracting and tweaking. It is a popular dish in colder months, and can usually be found on menus around Christmastime.
Recipes for stuffed cabbage also vary across Hungary, says Balázs, upon consideration: “I’m going to share with you what is considered the classic or original one – with no intention of hurting anyone’s taste!” Follow along for detailed instructions.
Recipe
For the filling:
1 pound (0.5kg) minced pork
5/8 cup (125g) rice
2 tablespoons of duck/goose/pork fat or vegetable oil
Half an onion
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3/4 tsp salt
For the cabbage:
1 cabbage, pickled or fresh (see recipe)
2 pounds (1kg) sauerkraut
Into the pot goes:
1/2 pound (250g) good-quality smoked meat, eg bacon, spare ribs
1/3 pound (150g) Hungarian smoked paprika sausage (lángolt kolbász, if you can find it)
2 tablespoons of duck/goose/pork fat or vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
7oz (200ml) sour cream
2 tbsp flour
Instructions
Steam the rice halfway: Put 5/8 cup of rice (approx 125 grams) in a pot with 1 cup of water at a simmer for 8-10 minutes while covered, until all water has been absorbed.
Finely chop half an onion. Simmer the onions in 2 tablespoons of fat (or oil) until lightly golden, about 5 minutes.
A note on using fat or vegetable oil
Stuffed cabbage is not diet food. This is not the recipe when you should avoid fat – at least in my opinion. Use good quality duck or goose fat, and it will kick your food up another notch!
Next, prepare the cabbage leaves. If you are using pickled cabbage leaves, you may want to rinse them under water to have a less stronger flavour. If you are using fresh cabbage, blanch them to make them easier to handle.
Cut out the thick part of the cabbage leaves, making them easy to roll up later with the filling.
Cut up the smoked meat and sausage in 2-3 portions.
The next step is to prepare the stuffing. Mix together the minced meat, rice, stewed onions, eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Make sure you season according to your taste. Some people like to add a little red pepper to give it some colour. Add 1/2 – 1 teaspoon if you like.
Next step is filling the cabbage leaves. This might seem complicated at first, but once you get the feel, it’ll become very easy.
Take one leaf of cabbage in your hand so that the inside is facing you.
Depending on the size of the cabbage leaf, place 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons of the meat filling into the centre of the leaf.
Fold one side of the leaf over the meat and itself.
Roll up the cabbage around the stuffing as tight as possible.
Taking the roll in your hand, stuff the loose end with your other forefinger.
When you are ready, slice up the leaves that you haven’t used and add them later to the stuffed cabbage pot.
Once you are ready with all the rolls, it’s time to compile the pot so that the stuffed cabbages can be cooked.
In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons of lard or vegetable oil, and toss in one large, finely-chopped onion. Steam the chopped onions for about 3-4 minutes. They should be just translucent, not golden.
Take off the heat, add 2 teaspoons of paprika, stir.
Spread half of the sauerkraut over the onion. Add 8-10 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves and 3 allspice berries. Of course, you can use more if you like stronger flavours.
Place the stuffed cabbage over the sauerkraut. Over this, stack the smoked meat and sausage on top of the rolls. There is never too much of smoked meat, so if you like it you can double the amount given in this recipe as well!
Finally, spread the remaining half of sauerkraut on top, fill up with enough water to just cover it, and cook (covered) over medium heat.
Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and cook the stuffed cabbage for 2 hours.
When your stuffed cabbage is cooked thru, it’s time to make the final touch!
Remove the stuffed cabbage and smoked meat, and place aside.
In a bowl, mix 7oz (200ml) of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of flour.
Add a few tablespoons of the cabbage water. Stir, thus avoiding it to be lumpy.
Pour the sour cream mixture in the pot over the sauerkraut, stir. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes.
To serve stuffed cabbage, start with some sauerkraut, then 1 or 2 rolls per person. Add some meat or sausage, fresh bread and extra sour cream.
Stuffed cabbage or cabbage rolls?
In English, we tend to use the name stuffed cabbage and cabbage rolls interchangeably, but the Hungarians refer to the dish only as stuffed cabbage. This, says Balazs, is because the original Hungarian name töltött káposzta literally means “stuffed cabbage” in English. “Until I started blogging in English,” he adds, “I had never heard the name ‘cabbage rolls’ before”.
Whatever you call it, we think you’ll enjoy how it tastes!
Check out Balázs Szilágyi’s website for more recipes.
