I am Italian – like 90% Italian. The remaining 10% is not even close to being Polish. However, back in Michigan where I grew up, there was an amazing Polish restaurant called Two Sisters, and it was run by (you guessed it) two Polish sisters. They made so many wonderful things, but one of my favorite dishes was their Stuffed Cabbage.
Always piping hot, tucked close together and blanketed with a sweet and tangy tomato sauce. Drool…I can almost taste that first bite. Well, fast forward nearly 20 years and a few states over and here I am longing for some Galumpkis. What’s an Italian girl to do?!
My answer? Make soup, of course! I came up with this soup in order to satisfy my craving for the real deal. It may not be the proper way to make “Stuffed Cabbage,” but it is fairly easy and reminds me of the delicious dinners I had as a child back at Two Sisters.
Stuffed Cabbage Soup
First, you will need to saute some onion in some olive oil over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Let the onion get nice and soft and just begin to caramelize.
Then add in 1 pound of ground beef and brown it up, making sure to break it up into small pieces. This will take another 4-5 minutes.
Make a nice little hole in the middle of the pan and pour in a good glug of red wine. In fact, pour yourself a glass while you’re at it 😉 If, on the off chance you aren’t a wine drinker, go ahead and use beef stock instead.
You want to stir and reduce the wine until you barely see it anymore. That means all the awesome flavors have concentrated and gone into the meat and onions – yum! This will take 5-10 minutes.
Next add in just about everything else – salt, pepper, thyme, smoked paprika, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock and cabbage coleslaw mix – phew that was a long list. And yes, I did say cabbage coleslaw mix – I love saving you time in the kitchen – you’re welcome 🙂
Bring up to a boil then reduce to a low simmer and cover slightly, allowing some steam to escape. Side note: Isn’t my green dutch oven pretty?!
The soup needs to cook and meld and marry it’s flavors for about an hour. Come back every 10 minutes or so and stir. It should end up looking like this.
The last step is another super simple one…add in a bag of Trader Joe’s precooked frozen brown rice.
Mix it up and let is cook uncovered for about 10 more minutes and voila, you have delicious, nutritious, hit the spot Stuffed Cabbage Soup.
Now put on some slippers, grab a spoon and a hunk of bread, and cozy up to this comforting bowl of soup.
And what’s even better about this soup is that it gets better with time. I actually prefer it the next day. It makes plenty of soup so there will be leftovers. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 for days or can be frozen for up to 2 months.
[recipe id=”1039″]