Grandma Sliwa’s Golabki (Cabbage Rolls)

In Grandma Sliwa's Recipes by Steve Sliwa

I have to admit, it took me awhile to appreciate these. I think it started about the time I could use silverware to feed myself. 🙂 We always went back for seconds.


1 lrg head cabbage cooked in water with 1 tsp salt (save liquid)
½ cup butter or marg – Grandma said oleo ☺
1/4 lb lean salt pork chopped (Grandma Z’s addition)
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic crushed
1 ½ cups cooked rice
1 lb cooked/drained ground beef
1 egg
1 tsp salt (leave out if using salt pork)
dash pepper

Core cabbage and boil core down in boiling water – peeling leaves off carefully as they soften or cut leaves off head and freeze for about an hour..as they defrost they will be soft

Sauté in skillet in butter: onion, garlic and salt pork. Add meat, rice salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Add egg.

Make the sauce:
¼ cup marg
¼ cup flour
1 6oz tomato paste
½ tsp salt/pepper
¼ tsp allspice
2 cups reserved water (or can use broth)

Melt marg and stir in flour till smooth and cook a few minutes to get rid of floury taste…add Tomato paste and water..cook still smooth and bubbly..add spices.

Assemble rolls:
In each leave put ½ cup meat mixture
Fold in sides and roll
Lay seam down in 9×13 pan that has some of the sauce in the bottom to prevent sticking.
Continue stuffing rolls. Spoon sauce over rolls…If you have any leftover cabbage I like to spread over the top and add more sauce.
Bake covered at 350 for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer

Serves 6 (But Dad said it was really 4 adults)

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