~ Five Ways to Enjoy Slovak-Style Stuffed Cabbage ~
When it comes to making cabbage rolls, like meatloaf or meatballs, most cuisines have a traditional recipe for them, and, all make use of on-hand ingredients. For instance: If they live in an area suited for raising sheep, lamb is in their cabbage rolls. If they live in a climate where vegetables grow year round, you'll find veggies like bell peppers and chunky tomatoes in them. I will, however, go out on a limb and state: when I say "cabbage roll", you should say "Eastern European", because that is the cuisine they're hands-down most commonly associated with.
Known as holubki to me and many of you*, stuffed cabbage rolls are beloved in every Eastern European household. Everyone makes them a bit differently, with the constants being: ground meat (beef, pork and/or lamb), cooked rice, steamed green cabbage leaves and a tomato-based sauce. Because they are labor-intensive, too often they're reserved for holidays or special occasions. That said, those of us in Eastern European inner-circles know there are other ways to bring this knife-and-fork savory comfort food to the weekday table in almost half the time.
*Note: Here are some other names for stuffed cabbage rolls as per Wikipedia: golubtsy (Russia); golabki (Poland); halubcy (Belarus); holubtsi (Ukraine); kohlroulade (Germany & Austria); sarma (Balkans & Turkey). The literal translation of the word holubki is: "little doves" or "little pigeons".
1) Classic Cabbage Rolls on the Stovetop or in the Crockpot:
2) Unstuffed Deconstructed Cabbage Rolls in the Crockpot:
3) Slovak-Style Stuffed Cabbage Soup w/Mini-Meatballs:
4) Slovak Unstuffed Cabbage Stew w/Ground Beef & Rice:
5) Slovak-Style Vegetarian Cabbage & Tomato Soup w/Egg Noodles:
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2019)
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