Comfort food never gets old.
In fact, the older the recipe, the better it is. After all, a recipe that has been passed down for generations has been fiddled with and improved upon so much that you really can’t go wrong in using it. This week in our Meal Plans we are scattering Polish-inspired recipes throughout, from Gawumpkis to Kapusta to Kapusta Stew (a Vie twist) to Poduszka (Pierogis).
Every time my best friend Carrie Anne’s mother, Carol, is in town from New Hampshire, we try to get together and cook. I love when she shares the recipes passed down to her from her husband, John’s, Polish Mother. Carol, a French Canadian by heritage, is a mean cook. She is not only a force in the kitchen, but it seems that every meal she touches turns to gold. Time and time again I am impressed with her expertise, skill and common sense approach in the kitchen. She teaches me something new always when I cook with her and I walk away with a few new amazing recipes in my back pocket…and a full belly, of course.
Carol and I have a lot in common. We pour over food magazines and cookbooks the way others do fiction. We test the hell out of everything we make and the recipes come out great, ready to be devoured by the families we make them for. If you buy into the fact that the number one ingredient in a great recipe is love, then you belong at Carol’s dinner table. She pours, pinches and mixes in a hefty portion of this most special ingredient.
She is the queen of comfort food.
This week we are offering up a couple of different Polish recipes that Carol has taught us. We are sharing with you techniques and recipes through videos and text, so sit back and get ready to learn the true art of making this amazing and healthy comfort food.
MAIN Gawumpkis
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8-10 servings
My amazing friend and cook, Carol, showed me how to make these last week and really knocked it out of the park. You may remember (if you follow my blog, DinnerDivide) that I've cooked with Carol before. I love documenting my experience with her.
That said, she has truly outdone herself with these Gawumpkis! Pronounced the way you'd think, these are essentially meat-stuff cabbage leaves, but they are anything but boring. Filled with pork, beef, rice, savory and then topped with fresh tomato sauce, I served these to family and friends during our power outage and everyone was begging for more!
Lucky for you these make a big batch, so once they've cooked, I encourage you to share with friends too or freeze them for use later in the month.
Ingredients
2 small green cabbages or 1 large green cabbage, cooked
2 cups Carolina (or white short grain) rice
1 quart chicken stock, plus more water as needed
2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 yellow onion
2 tsp salt and pepper
1 tsp dried and ground savory
2 tsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1-2 pinches red pepper flakes
2 28-oz cans whole, peeled tomatoes
Instructions
- Begin by cooking cabbage(s) in boiling water for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool, then slice off stem and peel off individual leaves, setting aside until all "stuffable" leaves are ready to go. You may want to take your knife and slice off any ribs on the leaves that seem to large or touch by running your knife parallel to the cabbage leaf and shaving off a bit of rib from the top.
- While cabbage(s) are cooking, soak rice for 20 minutes in cold water, strain and discard water. Allow rice to sit at room temperature to cool.
- Cook rice in 1 cup chicken stock and 3 cups water until tender, using either a rice cooker or the stove top. Follow this tutorial here for advice.
- In a large bowl, mix together the beef, pork, onion, salt, pepper, savory, + cooked (and cooled) rice.
- Add chicken broth, if needed, to help mixture come together.
- Add 1/4 cup meat mixture to each leaf and roll up from stem to top just like a burrito, making sure to tuck in sides.
- Place each stuffed cabbage leaf in an oiled baking dish and continue until leaves and meat mixture is gone, whichever comes first. Don't be scared to stack the stuffed leaves on top of one another, just do your best to make sure they stayed rolled up.
- Preheat your oven to 325 F while you make the tomato sauce following the recipe below!
- Add the rest of the chicken broth to the baking dish with the stuffed cabbage leaves and pour tomato sauce on top.
- Bake for 60 minutes, covering with foil as needed to prevent drying out.
- Remove from the oven, allow to rest on the counter for 10 minutes to cool, covered, and serve with extra tomato sauce on the side.
Courses dinner
Simple Tomato Sauce
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 60 ounces
Our go-to when it comes to Tomato Sauce. It's light, healthy and done in 5 minutes. What's not to love? Use this with pastas and pizzas as well as a great addition to soups and stews.
Enjoy as-is for that perfect bowl of Tomato Soup and don't forget the Grilled Cheese to go along with!
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1-2 pinches red pepper flakes
2 28-oz cans whole, peeled tomatoes
Instructions
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan.
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and brown for 1-2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, plus extra water from rinsing out cans (just a few ounces) and bring to a simmer.
Remove from heat, blend and store in mason jars in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
Notes
This recipe makes a large batch that will last you throughout the month! Watch our video (or scroll below this recipe) to see how easy it all comes together.
If you'd like to freeze your sauce, just make sure sauce comes to 1/2 inch below the top of the mason jar.
Don't have mason jars? Sauce can be frozen or refrigerated in plastic bags.
Courses sauce
Watch our live video tutorial
Check out the included recipe on making Kapusta below
SOUP Kapusta Stew
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8-10 servings
My dear friend Carol introduced me to this Polish delight! We even made a video documenting how she made this dish, so check that out. I loved the flavors so much that I thought...how about adding a bit more liquid + ground beef, pork or lamb and turning it into a stew?
Et voila! That's what we have for you here! Enjoy...
Ingredients
1 head cooked cabbage, shredded *See Instructions for process
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef, pork or lamb, your choice
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 pkg cremini mushrooms, washed and sliced
2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried and ground savory
1 jar sauerkraut, rinsed in a colander
2 quarts chicken broth
Instructions
- Begin by cooking the entire head of cabbage in boiling water for 20 minutes. Remove, let cool, then shred. *This can be done well in advance.
- In a soup pot, add butter, onions and ground meat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often to break up clumps.
- Add mushrooms, black pepper, salt, ground savory and shredded cabbage. Cook for 5 minutes more.
- While shredded cabbage is cooking, rinse sauerkraut and add to the soup along with the chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Serve hot.*
Notes
*Feel free to add any leftover carrots or celery you've got lying around, plus any other veggies you want!
Courses soup
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