Best 4 Babcias Polish Cabbage Recipes

KAPUSTA (POLISH BRAISED CABBAGE)

Steps:

• Sauté the diced bacon in a medium sauté pan with a lid, over medium high heat, 2-3 min.
• Add the diced onions. Sauté for 3-5 minutes, until the bacon is crispy and the onions are golden. (At this point, if there is a lot of fat in the pan from the bacon, drain some off, leaving just enough bacon grease to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.)
• Add the garlic and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
• Add the shredded cabbage and water. Cover the pot and simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the cabbage has softened.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt and pepper. Taste your kapusta, and adjust the seasonings as desired.
• Serve with polish sausage or pierogies.

BABCIA'S POLISH CABBAGE

Steps:

• In a large stock pot or dutch oven, saute bacon in olive oil until crisp. Remove bacon and saute diced onion until soft but not brown. Chop bacon into bits and add back to pot with onion. Add 4 cups water. Bring to boil. Add cabbage, wilt cabbage in batches adding more water as needed. Once wilted, add ketchup, mustard, sweeter, vinegar. Bring to simmer, cover and simmer for at least one hour. More is better but you want to retain moister as though this was a thick soup.

STUFFED CABBAGE WITH BEEF AND RICE

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook cabbage, turning often, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and, with tongs, gently separate leaves. Cut out thick ribs from 8 to 10 of the largest leaves and set leaves aside. Shred remaining cabbage and place in an 8-inch square baking dish set on a baking sheet.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Transfer half the onion mixture to a large bowl. Add tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar to saucepan, season with salt and pepper, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce on top of shredded cabbage in dish.
• To bowl with onion mixture, add rice, ground beef, and egg and season with salt and pepper. With your hands, mix well, then divide into 8 portions. Working with a few leaves at a time, lay cabbage on a work surface, overlapping smaller leaves to form one larger leaf if necessary. Place a portion of beef in the center of each. Fold bottom half of cabbage over filling, then fold in sides and roll up tightly. Transfer cabbage rolls, seam side down, to baking dish. Top with remaining sauce, cover dish with foil, and bake on sheet 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until sauce is bubbling, about 10 minutes.

POLISH STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Place the head of cabbage in a large pot over high heat and add water to cover. Boil cabbage for 15 minutes, or until it is pliable and soft. Drain and allow to cool completely. Remove the hard outer vein from the leaves.
• In a separate large bowl, combine the beef, rice, garlic powder and the egg, mixing well. Place a small amount, about the size of your palm, into the center of a cabbage leaf and fold leaf over, tucking in the sides of the leaf to keep meat mixture inside.
• Pile up the filled leaves in a large pot, putting the larger leaves on the bottom. Add the tomato juice, vinegar and sugar and enough water to cover. Simmer over medium low heat for about 60 minutes. (Note: Keep an eye on them, making sure the bottom of leaves do not burn.)