Name: Czech Cabbage Rolls
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 1½ lb lean ground beef; ½ lb ground pork or mild sausage; 1½ cups white (converted) rice (uncooked); 1 large egg; 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped); 1 onion (finely chopped); 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 1 tbsp sweet paprika; 1 tsp hot paprika or cayenne pepper; 1 tsp caraway seeds; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 1 large head of cabbage; 2 cups drained sauerkraut; 2, 28 oz cans tomato sauce; 1, 28 oz can diced tomatoes; 1 can condensed tomato soup; 2 cups tomato juice

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Updated 10/9/2024

Cabbage Rolls are a comfort food that Czechs and Slovaks affectionately call holubky. The name is derived from holub, which means pigeon in both Czech and Slovak. In English, Holubky actually means little pigeons.

According to several sources, the dish originated in Ukraine where it is called holubtsi. Ages ago, it was served at elegant feasts and was prepared with pigeons wrapped in cabbage. Overtime, the pigeons were swapped out for other meats and grains.

By the nineteenth century, variations of the dish gained popularity across Eastern Europe. Nowadays, stuffed cabbage rolls, called gołąbki, are a classic of Polish cuisine. Variations of the cabbage roll are also popular throughout the Balkans, where they’re known as sarma. Yet, in Romania, they are a matter of pride, as the sarmale is the national dish.

Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic. Photo K.R. Lamoureux

A distinctly Eastern European dish

Some of the tastiest cabbage rolls are found in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. My preference are those made with Savoy cabbage stuffed with either ground beef, ground pork or a combination of the two. The meat is mixed with rice, onions and garlic then simmered in tomato sauce. But, what gives this recipe its distincly Eastern European profile, is the addition of sauerkraut, paprika and caraway.

What’s the best type of Cabbage for making rolls?

Generally, green cabbage is used in making most traditional cabbage roll recipes. It’s leaves are sturdy and large, making them ideal for wrapping the filling. They require steaming or blanching to soften the leaves so that they are more pliable. The inner leaves however will be too small and rigid for rolling.

With their crinkly, tender leaves, Savoy cabbage is more pliable and easier to roll. The leaves will become more delicate after cooking and wont require as long to cook before they become tender. Their flavour is also milder than green cabbage. Napa cabbage is also milder and more tender than green cabbage. However it is a bit trickier to work into nice cigar shaped rolls.

Czech Cabbage Rolls

Kevin Lamoureux

Cabbage leaves stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, ground pork, rice, spices and baked in tomato sauce.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 30

Course Main Course

Cuisine Eastern European

Servings 8 people

Calories 476 kcal

Ingredients

For the Filling

1½ lb lean ground beef
½ lb ground pork or mild sausage
1½ cups white (converted) rice uncooked
1 large egg
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tsp hot paprika or cayenne pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

For the pan

1 large head of cabbage
2 cups drained sauerkraut
2, 28 oz cans tomato sauce
1, 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 can condensed tomato soup
2 cups tomato juice

Instructions

Soak the rice for about 5 minutes then drain it and set it aside.
Remove the core from cabbage while leaving the rest of the head intact.
In a large pot with a steamer basket, place the head of cabbage on the basket with the core side down. Steam for about 5 minutes or until the leaves have wilted.
Meanwhile, mix the meat, onions, garlic, rice, egg and seasonings in a large bowl.
After the leaves have steamed, remove from the steamer pot and allow them to cool. Separate the leaves and set them to dry on tea towel. If the inner leaves are still rigid, steam the reamainder of the head of cabbage for 5 more minutes.
Spread tomato sauce followed by the sauerkraut on the bottom of a large roast pan.
Chop up unused cabbage pieces and add them to the bottom of a large roast pan along with 1 can of the tomato sauce and the sauerkraut.
Remove the rigid lower part of the centre rib from the leaves with a pearing knife.
Roll the filling into the leaves in a cigar style. Start rolling from the top of the leaf, then tuck in the sides to roll it tightly around the filling.
Layer the cabbage rolls in roast pan.
Top with the remaining can of tomato sauce, the tomato juice, tomato soup and diced tomatoes to cover the rolls.
On top of the stove, bring sauce to a boil then transfer to preheated oven.
Bake covered at 325° F for 2 to 3 hours (or until cabbage is tender).

Notes

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill.

Nutrition

Per serving

Keyword cabbage, ground beef, ground pork, Holubky, rolls

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6 replies on “Czech Cabbage Rolls”

Sounds real good just hope the uncocked rice comes out right it would be a bummer if it’s dry and undercooked
Alot goes in to the dish and we all know
Beef is not cheap any more more over same with pork. Again it sounds nummy
And I am a bohunk or czechoslovakian
Named Characky English version of the
Name I think it is Shreck or Shrek in czeck.

Over the 2 hours cooking time, the rice absorbs the the tomato juice, and swells to plump up the cabbage rolls. I use converted rice, which is usually cooked in about 30 minutes when it is cooked alone.

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