Galompkis - aka Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

What is a Galumpki? From where my mother's side of the family comes from, it is what stuffed cabbage is called. There is a whole debate out there amongst my mother's family on not only the spelling of galumpkis, but also what you put inside and on top of them.

My recipe comes from one of my Mother's Sister's daughter... my cousin. I have no doubt when and if they read my blog, I will get comments on how I put this recipe out here incorrectly. Alas... being a Pitzel by nature, I don't care!!

It's a rather simple recipe, cabbage, ground meat (in this recipe I used ground turkey, but you can use ground beef or a combo of ground beef and pork)& rice. Pretty basic right?

Let's start with the cabbage. Ah, the cabbage, the pungent smell of cooking cabbage. You must choose your cabbage head wisely. The best size is between 6" - 8" in diameter. A cabbage head too small would produce a galompki the right size fora small child. And we know they tend to be wasted on the child, they don't seem to have the same taste for this delicacy as we adults. A cabbage head too large would produce a galompki just the right size for my 6' 4" husband!

The secret to making the unique and flavorful galompki just right is the cabbage leaf. The recipe calls for cooking the cabbage just right, so as not to overcook making them too soggy and they will fall apart or under cook the cabbage leaves which causes them to be tough and impossible to roll.

Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to boil, this will be for the cabbage.

While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the filling:
* I used 3 lbs of ground turkey, but my recipe calls for 2 lbs of ground beef and 1 lb of ground pork.
* 1 large onion finely chopped
* salt & pepper
* 1 egg (used as binder)
* 1 cup uncooked white or brown rice
* 2 cups water
Bring 2 cups of water and rice to a boil, then turn of stove and let sit.
Mix all ingredients together except for the rice.
Drain rice, and add the rice to the meat mixture and mix well.

Preparing the Cabbage Leaves for rolling:
* Two cabbage heads 6'8" in diameter
* Cut the core out of the cabbage
* Place cabbage in a large kettle of boiling water
* Simmer until leaves are pliable but not soft!
* Pull off leaves one at a time as they get pliable. This goes fast, be ready!

Assembly of galompki:
* Large bag of sauerkraut

Lay a cabbage leaf with the big vein facing down. Place 1/4 cup of filling on top of lower part of cabbage leaf. Roll up the cabbage leaf a little, then tuck the sides in and finish rolling. Just like an eggroll.

Place finished cabbage rolls on a separate plate. There will be extra cabbage leaves left over once all of the meat mixture has been used. Place some of these leaves on the bottom of a sturdy large dutch oven.

Stack rolls on top of the leaves, once you have a layer completed, put a layer of sauerkraut on top of them. Put the next layer of rolls and another layer of sauerkraut. Top this with more cabbage leaves.

Cover tightly leaving about 1" to the top to prevent spillage. I use a broiler pan lined in tinfoil and place the pot on top of this to catch any spillage.

Cook at 325° for about 2-4 hours. When it's done, pretty much any green that was in the cabbage leaf will be gone and it will be clear or white. It's not the prettiest meal to eat, but it is one of the yummiest!!!