Chrzanka's Little Pigeons

With hunger in our bellies, money in our pockets, and two hours to spend delighting our gastronomic senses we headed toward Old Krakow, the only Polish restaurant in San Francisco, for some down home cooking. I agree with the rest of the critics that dine at Old Krakow, located in SF's bizarre little West Portal neighborhood. The food is good -some dishes are even great!- but way too expensive for Polish food. So, if you are ever feel like consuming a Polish meal, are in the Bay Area, and don't feel like dishing out the $15.00 for the golabki. Head to the market instead and spend the same amount of many on the ingredients below and make enough golabki to feed a group of about four. Heck, even if you aren't in the Bay Area, go ahead and treat yourself. Actually, you'll probably get more bang for your buck since you'll be buying groceries that most likely will cost less than they would here.

Chrzanka presents a recipe for Polish Stuffed Cabbage (Golabki*)

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*Pronounced - go whoa m b key.

Oh, the fun you can have with golabki! This Slavic delight can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. The stuffing (ground meat, sausage, mushrooms & rice ...) can be as diverse as the sauces in which the golabki bathe. In the culinary sense, the word "golabki" means stuffed cabbage, but in the everyday Polish sense, it can also mean little pigeons. I'm not sure why this is (something about the shape of the rolls perhaps?). I can assure you, though, that it has nothing to do with eating little pigeons.

• 1 lb. ground turkey (Any ground meat will do really. When I was a vegetarian, I used mashed up firm tofu. I betcha that faux vegan "meat" would work nicely, too.) 
• 1/2 cup rice (more if you prefer more rice in the stuffing) 
• 1-2 cups water 
• 1 medium onion, diced 
• 1-2 eggs (usually one is enough) 
• salt and pepper to taste 
• 1-2 tablespoons of flour 
• Several dashes of marjoram (or Italian Seasoning) 
• 1-2 can tomato paste (depending on how saucy you like it) 
• 1 medium head savoy cabbage (savoy cabbage -the wrinkly kind- is best because it is easier to work with and easier/softer to eat, but the regular cabbage is OK too)

Rinse and core the cabbage and remove any bruised leaves. Put the entire cabbage in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and simmer. I don't know how long you need to do this; I usually do it about 30-45 minutes from the boiling point. The idea is to soften the leaves so that they are easier to handle and eat. While the cabbage is boiling, steam the rice. When the cabbage is done CAREFULLY remove it from the pot. It will be HOT, HOT, HOT!! Rinse it in cold water. When it has cooled a little, remove the leaves one-by-one. As you get to the center, the leaves will get smaller and you won't be able to use them for golabki. You can either throw them away or save them for another recipe. You may want to devein the cabbage leaves by slicing off a portion of the main artery of the leaf.

Put ground meat, steamed rice, onions, egg(s), marjoram, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Make sure the rice has cooled sufficiently before you start mixing. Mix the ingredients well.

Fill each cabbage leaf toward the bottom of the leaf with the stuffing mixture. I think a nice heaping tablespoon is usually enough, but that really depends on the size of your cabbage leaves and your appetite. Fold leaf to enclose the mixture. Do this by folding in the two sides of the leaf toward the center and rolling it up from the bottom up. Pack the golabki tightly side-by-side in a baking dish and pour a mixture of salt water over them. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven until the leaves start to turn golden.

It's time to sauce it up! Golabki can be served sans sauce but they are usually served dressed up. Most often golabki are served in a tomato sauce but they can also be served in a variety of other sauces (e.g. cream sauce or mushroom sauce). It is your choice and I encourage you to experiment. Since I usually make my golabki with tomato sauce that is the recipe I will give you here.

Once the golabki turn golden is when you'll want to add a mixture of tomato paste, flour, water and seasonings (mix these -to your taste- before adding) to the baking dish. Continue to bake the golabki - this time covered- until the sauce thickens. You may want to make an extra batch of the sauce on the side, since sometimes the golabki absorb a good deal of the sauce. Smacznego!