Töltött Káposzta (Stuffed Cabbage)
Ivonne from Cream Puffs in Venice and Orchidea from Viaggi & Sapori are hosting a one-time event called Dishes of Comfort. They ask us to write about something we consider comfort food, one of the special dishes that meant a lot to us when we were young.
My grandmother has a fairly limited culinary repertoire. She makes a set of Hungarian dishes, and little else. But what she does, she does well, and this is the food I grew up on. Ima (we call our grandmother by the Hebrew word for mother) lives less than a mile away from the house where I grew up, and she was our default babysitter when my brothers and I were kids. Her food is comfort food for me, and stuffed cabbage is what she has made the most of over the years.
When I spent a summer in Israel during high school, I got to visit a set of our cousins that I had never met before. When I arrived, it turned out that Ima had called up her cousin Hugocs, who lives in Netanya, Israel, to tell her to make stuffed cabbage for me because she knows how much I like it. The stuffed cabbage Hugocs made for me in Netanya tasted just like the stuffed cabbage Ima has always made for me in Brooklyn, and eating it was like coming home.
As my father pointed out, they probably learned how to make stuffed cabbage at the knee of the same old woman back in the old country. They grew up together in the same little village (Tarpa) in Hungary, after all.
When I went to Hungary last August, I found that the food more and more closely resembled my grandmother’s cooking as I traveled north to Tarpa. Down in Pécs and Szeged, I found no stuffed cabbage at all. In Debrecen, the stuffed cabbage was mysteriously lacking in tomato paste, but was otherwise very similar. Finally, when we got to Tarpa, Ima’s friend Szaz Anna made us stuffed cabbage that was very delicious and very similar to Ima’s, except that she used lecso instead of tomato paste, and it was a bit spicier than Ima’s version. Anna gave me her recipe, but I prefer Ima’s stuffed cabbage, and it is my take on Ima’s recipe that I am sharing with you here.
To this day, when I call my grandmother to see how she’s doing, she usually tells me, “I made some stuffed cabbage if you want to come pick it up. It is too much for me to eat, you have to come take it. I made it for you.”
I called her before I started to steam the cabbage myself, even though I wrote down her recipe a while back. I think she enjoyed the call, though, and the reminder that there are still things she does far better than I. I couldn’t possibly rely on just my notes when trying to make stuffed cabbage on my own for the very first time, after all.
Well, in the great tradition of my maternal ancestors, I have made far too much stuffed cabbage. It is here if you want to come pick it up.
Töltött Káposzta (Stuffed Cabbage)
1 cabbage
For the filling
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. rice, rinsed
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp édes paprika
A little olive oil, just to help bind it together
Salt and black pepper to taste
For the sauce
1 15 oz. jar sauerkraut
Water
Oil
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp édes paprika
1 tbsp granulated sugar
Salt to taste
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
Take off the most wretched outer leaves of the cabbage, and rinse the whole thing off. Steam the cabbage for 5-10 minutes, or until the leaves are pliable enough to bend easily. I find that after removing all the pliable leaves I can, I end up having to re-steam the still hard inner leaves. If I steam it so long that even they are pliable from the start, the outer leaves are easier to accidentally rip.
Peel off the leaves. Hold each leaf rib-side up, and pare the thick rib down to get rid of that tough vein and make it about as flat as the rest of the leaf.
Prepare the filling by mixing all the filling ingredients together by hand. The rice:meat ratio varies, though I have suggested using a 1:2 ratio here. Ima initially told me to use 1 part rice to 1 1/2 parts meat by weight, but when I tried it that way, there was way more rice than I’m used to when she cooks it. It may be that the type of rice used affects this - I don’t know what sort of rice Ima uses (Uncle Ben’s would be my guess), but I use basmati. Szaz Anna also uses 1 part rice to 1 1/2 parts meat by weight.
When I called Ima to ask her to clear this up for me, she explained that it is really based on what you can afford - if you can afford more meat, use less rice. If you want to stretch the meat further, use more rice. The rice also serves the purpose of keeping the meat from binding into nothing more than a tough patty; like the bread in meatballs, the rice here keeps the meat tender and good.
To fill each cabbage leaf, set the leaf on the table rib-side down, so that it naturally curves into a sort of cup waiting to be filled. Roll small handfulls of meat into oblong patties that fit the size of the leaves, and place the filling on the cabbage leaf, near the bottom of the leaf. Fold the sides of the leaf over the filling, and roll the cabbage around the meat, being sure to tuck the bottom end of the rib around the filling to keep it all snugly wrapped.
Cut the center out of the cabbage that remains, and discard. Chop up the rest of the cabbage into small pieces.
To fill the pot, start with a layer of that chopped up cabbage mixed with sauerkraut. Then place the stuffed cabbage in a flat layer on top of that, starting by lining them up around the circumference of pot and then filling in the middle. Add another layer of chopped cabbage and sauerkraut on top of that, then another layer of stuffed cabbage. Keep going like this until you run out of stuffed cabbage, and add a final layer of chopped cabbage and sauerkraut on top. Add water to just cover the contents of the pot.
Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.
A few minutes before your kitchen timer goes off, make a roux by browning the flour in a bit of oil in a separate pan. Stir in the paprika, then remove from heat. Add the sugar, salt, and tomato paste, and mix well. Ladle some of the water out of the cooking cabbage pot and mix in with the paste, just to thin it out. Add the thinned paste back into the pot with the cabbage, and carefully stir it in to dissolve it in the water. My grandmother instructed me to the shake the pot to get the paste mixed in, but my pot was too full for me to risk that.
Simmer for another 10-20 minutes, or until done.
November 10th, 2006 at 10:01 am
Oh, fabulous!!! I’m on my way (at least virtually).
Terrific photo and absolutely beautiful story!
So terrific that you can call and talk for this cooking!
November 10th, 2006 at 10:55 am
You shouldn’t make offers like that to people who know where you live *weg*
November 10th, 2006 at 11:32 am
Tanna - Thank you! And hey, you’re welcome here any time. Yeah, it’s wonderful to have my grandmother as a resource like that. She gets all excited discussing recipes with me, so it’s a fun way for us to bond.
K - If you want to drop by and grab some, they’re yours.
November 10th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
I love every thing about this entry, and cannot wait to try the recipe.
November 10th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
*runs to yearbook* Just kidding. Haha.
Okay, but I’m stupid, is the rice and the ground beef to be cooked first? I’d guess no because you’d probably have said so in the ingredients, but I just want to make sure. :) Thanks!
PS The beginning part, before the jump/show more link, made me tear up.
November 10th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
I love these posts of yours. My grandmother made these too, and I’ve been thinking of rustling up the recipe from someone, she called them halopshees, that’s phonetic, I have no idea how it might really have been spelled.
November 10th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
Oh, how I miss my dad’s stuffed cabbage!
That’s one of the Jewish (well, Eastern European) dishes I think of the least, but it’s a real comfort food. I might have to try making it some time soon.
November 10th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
K@W - too late, I just ate the last one.
November 11th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
What a beautiful story, Danielle! I too love stuffed cabbage and will have to try this recipe very soon. It’s amazing how these simple dishes can mean so much.
Thanks so much for taking part!
November 11th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
Gretchen - Thanks! If you do try it, let me know how it goes.
Yvo - Hey, you’re welcome to come over for stuffed cabbage any time. ^^ No, the rice and beef are not cooked first. They cook in the cabbage and sauce. It all works out, really.
Alanna - Halopshees? Interesting. Where is your grandmother from?
Gluten-Free - What was your dad’s version like?
Ivonne - My pleasure! Thank you for setting the challenge and thus motivating me to finally make this on my own. If you try this recipe, please do let me know how it goes.
November 11th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
it’s alwyas such a wonderful feeling for me to read about Hungarian food on your blog, Danielle! I love stuffed cabbage, although I make it really only about once a year. There are a few different ways to prepare it, with ot without the tomatoes, all versions so delicious. Well, the only problem is, you really always make way too much. the good thing is it becomes better and better every time you reheat it. Thanks for posting this! Zsofi
November 12th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
Delicious - my gran (Polish) used to make a varitaion of these too
November 15th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Beautiful! I too have fond memories of stuffed cabbage, but of course my mom’s weren’t “authentic” in the sense yours are. (I recall cans of Campbell’s tomato soup . . . )Thank you for sharing this wonderful heirloom recipe.
–Sarah
November 16th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
Very nice recipe… thanks for participating.
Ciao.
November 18th, 2006 at 7:23 am
My cousin’s, boyfriend’s mother makes the best stuffed cabbage ever! I think it’s the fact that it’s made by a Grandma that makes it so special.
November 21st, 2006 at 5:58 am
What a wonderful story and a great recipe! They sound delicious.
November 27th, 2006 at 4:50 am
I made this amazing dish on the weekend (I used pork mince instead tho) and it got rave reviews from all the family- truly authentic Very reviving for those with colds! One cabbage made enough easily for 8 people so we are looking forward to having it reheated again tonight. Thank you for sharing it and urge others to make it as well.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:05 am
[…] These are my favorite all-purpose braising vessels. I have made bone-suckingly unctuous Chinese spare ribs in mine, and a Greek lamb stew. I will probably use one to make my grandmother’s Hungarian stuffed cabbage next time, too. Not to mention many soups. […]
February 12th, 2007 at 12:46 am
[…] Main Courses: Meat Crypto-Jewish Brazilian Yellow Stew Finnish Meatballs with Squid Ink Pasta Hortobágyi Palacsintak (Pancakes Stuffed with Meat Stew) Kabocha Beef Tagine with Chickpeas and Preserved Lemon Lamb Tagine with Apricots, Dates, and Yams Lamb Tagine with Pearl Onions, Dates, and Sugar Snap Peas Malaysian Beef Curry with Thick Onion Sauce (Daging Nasi Kandar) Sour Cherry Barbecue Sauce and Baby Back Ribs Spicy Beef Slices with Tangerine Peel Stewed Garlicky Black Bean Spare Ribs Stir-Fried String Beans with Pork and Pork Töltött Káposzta (Stuffed Cabbage) […]
July 23rd, 2007 at 3:54 am
I just found you because i was searching for this recipe, and you almost made me cry. My grandmother was hungarian, she died a couple of years ago, but she sounds just like yours. I grew up on this food, and she was always making WAY too much and asking us to eat more.
I miss her a lot!
July 25th, 2007 at 10:04 am
Zsofi - It sure does. It’s really my favorite sort of leftovers. Though I miss living with my brothers; with them around, it never lasted too long.
Ange - I’d love to hear how the Polish version differed from mine.
Sarah - If they made you happy, and your mom made them, it’s all good. ^^
Orchidea - Thank you.
Brilynn - That makes all the difference!
Sally - Thank you.
Gae - I’m thrilled to hear you tried it and liked it!
Guac - I showed your comment to my mother, who almost got a little tearful herself reading it. Hungarian grandmothers are really special. You’ll probably appreciate this, then - when I showed this post and the photo to my grandmother, she scolded me for making the cabbage too big and not tucking it in well enough on the left side. Absolute perfectionist, she is, and convinced that she knows best and I will never be able to live up to her standards of stuffed cabbage. ::laughter:: The worst part is, she’s probably right. If you’re ever in NYC and want a home-cooked Hungarian meal, you let me know and I’ll call her up, okay?
October 30th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
this is a great recipe, but i’ve learned from my mother in law who is from wales, who got her recipe from her, it’s just a little different. We use tomato soup on top of our cabbage rolls and then whe top then with bacon. THAT makes everything taste awesome. My mother in law doesn’t eat the bacon, she just uses it for the taste, but my husband and I eat it.. Try it sometime
January 20th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
In Romania “sarmale” (or “stuffed cabbage” as you call it) it’s a national dish. That is why I’m pretty amazed I found this in the Hungarian Recipes category.