Golubtsy - Cabbage Rolls

Golubtsy - Cabbage Rolls

There are lots of recipes for cabbage rolls. Some add rice to meat and use tomato paste instead of ketchup. Some fry onions with tomato paste and add grated carrots. Since I’m trying to cut calories from every recipe, as Russian cuisine is pretty rich as other European cuisines, I don’t use rice or carrots, though I prefer ketchup to tomato paste, as it adds sweetness to the dish.

Cabbage Rolls

Cabbage – 1 head

Ground beef – 1.5 lbs

Egg – 1

Onion – 2 big (sweet)

Ketchup – 2 cups

Salt – 2 tsp

Pepper – 1/2 tsp

Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp

Sour cream – optional for serving

Boil cabbage, take the center out and divide into leaves. Leave 3 cups cabbage liquid.

Mix meat with salt, pepper, egg, finely chopped onion (1), and ketchup (1 cup)

Add the mixture into the center of a cabbage leaf, roll the cabbage leaf, repeat until you are out of meat, put the rolls in a pan, add 3 cups of cabbage liquid (left over from cabbage boiling), and boil for 1 hr. If you have any cabbage left, you may add it on top of cabbage rolls. Meanwhile, fry 1 finely chopped onion without oil on high for 5 min, add 1 cup of ketchup and sauté with ketchup until soft (~ 15 min). After cabbage rolls have been boiling for an hour, add onions with ketchup to cabbage rolls and boil another 30 min. Serve with sour cream (optional)