For some of you, the thought of buckwheat and mushroom cabbage rolls will be a new idea. This meat-free version is well known in Poland. It’s a Wigilia staple. It could be a Lenten supper, It’s plant-based and perfect for lighter springtime meals!
That’s what I’m making these today. I’m trying to include more meat-free dishes in my diet, but if you know me, you know that nutritional tweaks still have to involve great flavor.
Buckwheat
So let’s touch briefly on buckwheat. What is it, and should we be adding it to our diet?
- Buckwheat is a pseudocereal like quinoa. That means buckwheat is a seed, but it grows on a leafy plant, not a grass-like plant such as wheat or rice.
- You make have heard of buckwheat flour, but today, I’m using buckwheat groats, the hulled seed.
- Even though the name contains the word wheat, it isn’t wheat and it is gluten-free.
- Buckwheat, rich in fiber and minerals, contains more protein than rice or quinoa.
- Buckwheat is grown in much of the northern hemisphere including Poland where it has been harvested since the 14th century. If you think about it, adding buckwheat to cabbage rolls is probably more traditional than using rice which is not grown in Poland.
- The experts at Food and Wine have this to say about flavor when paring buckwheat: Buckwheat’s earthy . . . taste means it pairs well with rich foods like wild mushrooms, winter fruit, and tangy cheese.
Let’s go with buckwheat and wild mushrooms from the forest. It seems like every family in Poland has not only a mushroom expert but also a secret spot, the place they’ve been going for years, where they know an autumn rain is sure to produce a nice crop of wild mushroons.
Drying mushrooms allows the foragers to keep and use their bounty until the next harvest, unlike fresh mushrooms which have a short shelf-life. The mushrooms when they’re reconstituted contain less water than fresh, so the flavor is more concentrated.
So let’s marry these two flavors in our buckwheat and mushroom cabbage rolls.
I’m using savoy cabbage today. I find it easier to work with than white (or green) cabbage. The leaves are less compacted and easier to separate with just a little hot water. Its appearance is also pleasing. There’s such an interesting pattern to the leaves.
You might serve your cabbage rolls with any variety of mushroom or tomato sauces. I know you’ll enjoy them.
Smacznego!
Lois
PS – both buckwheat groats and dried mushrooms can be difficult to find in many supermarkets. Not to worry, my partners at Polana.com carry both and so much more!
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Buckwheat and Mushroom Cabbage Rolls
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 cabbage rolls 1x
- Category: main dish
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Polish
Description
A vegetarian cabbage roll, traditional for Wigilia, a Lenten supper, or a light spring meal!
Ingredients
- 70 – 100 g dried mushrooms
- 1 head savoy cabbage
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup buckwheat, cooked according to package directions
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Add the dried mushrooms and boiling water to a bowl. Let sit for at least 30 minutes to reconstitute the mushrooms. You can put another bowl or small plate on top of the mushrooms to keep them submerged.
- While the mushrooms rehydrate, cut the core out of the cabbage. Run hot water into the core space to help separate the leaves. Remove the leaves until they get to be too small to roll. Trim the large center vein on the back of the larger leaves. This will make them easier to roll and make sure the leaves cook more uniformly. Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer. Submerge the leaves and cook until they’re soft and tender so they will roll easily. Remove and set aside.
- Add the onion and butter to a frying pan over medium-high heat and cook until softened. While the onion is cooking, drain and chop the mushrooms (you can save the mushroom water to make a sauce or to add to a soup). Add the chopped mushrooms and the cooked buckwheat groats to the onion, season with salt and pepper. When the mixture is cool enough not to cook your egg, add and mix until uniformly combined.
- Spread out a cabbage leaf. Near the core end of the leaf add the 2-4 tablespoons of buckwheat and mushroom filling depending on the size of the leaf. Shape the filling into a log-like shape. Fold in the sides of the leaf and roll it up as if you were making a burrito.
- Place the cabbage rolls in your baking dish with the edges touching. Add a few tablespoons of water or vegetable broth. Cover with foil. Bake for an hour. Top with your favorite mushroom or tomato sauce.
Notes
Note: some people like to freeze the cabbage overnight. When the cabbage thaws, the leaves peel off easily and are soft enough to roll. The texture is a little different, but it is so easy!
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Shelley
So delicious!
I grew up with Polish grandparents and miss so much of the food (and traditions) although I am now a vegetarian. So this recipe is perfect. I made it tonight. Thank you! I can’t wait to make if for my mom next time I see her!
Shelley Ann
ps – running hot water into the core made peeling the leaves so easy! I much prefer this over freezing the cabbage first (that takes thinking ahead). Thank you for that tip!
LindaSonia
Hate mushrooms – what could I substitute?? Love your website and you tube episodes. You guys are a joy to watch!
polishhousewife
You could just leave them out – go with buckwheat and onion. Thanks for your question and your kind words!
Elaine Siglow
I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but your website was a joy to use. For the longest time I wondered what Wig lee ah was. When I discovered it was Vah lee ah, the Christmas Eve dishes. I just had to learn more. I’m really looking forward to making these dishes. I see they can be time consuming, but I think some of them can be made ahead and frozen. I’m looking forward to this challenge and joy. I love the religious traditions instilled by this meal and plan to enjoy this for many years to come! Thank you for having such and awesome website. It was hard to find recipes in English as I know only that language.
polishhousewife
I’m so happy to connect with you, Elaine, and look forward to future chats. Smacznego and Merry Christmas!
Theodora Szuba
I do make these for Christmas Eve since
The early 70’s my mom taught me! One
Of many memories I have cooking with her!
Matt W
I’m going to have to start making golabki this way! I’m vegetarian but miss golabki as it was my favorite growing up. Is there a reason to use dried mushrooms as opposed to fresh ones?
Lois Britton
Dried mushrooms have a more intense flavor. I think originally they were used because mushrooms weren’t available year-round. They were preserved by drying.
Rosemarie
Can I make this recipe with quinoa instead of buckwheat? Local Kroger doesn’t carry buckwheat that I could find. Got four containers of baby Bella mushrooms on sale at half price (fresh, not dried). Was planning on making mushroom soup with it (use and love your recipe for that!), but when this came up on my Facebook feed, I thought, what the heck, let’s give it a try. I was thinking of using red quinoa. I’m trying to cut down on meat for my husband and me since he is on a low-salt and low-protein diet due to having only one kidney.
Dia a Lis
Do you have a gołombki recipe using rice with dried mushrooms and fresh mushrooms? My mom always made a mushroom sauce to go over them too. My nephew wants my mom’s recipe but there’s nothing written down. We just made them from my mom’s memories. Well, she’s not here anymore and I don’t know what to do. We tried but they fell apart even adding one egg. Should we have added two? We chopped and cooked about a pound of mushrooms with sautéed onions and butter, added about 2 cups Uncle Ben’s rice (cooked). Reconstituted dried mushrooms and added everything together when cooled plus an egg. Rolled them in cabbage leaves, then added some kind of mushroom sauce (including a can of cream of mushroom soup but not sure what else).
Can you please help me give my nephew some kind of Gołumbki recipe with what I wrote above PLEASE???!!! I need to include amounts because mom and I cooked by look, taste and feel! Please help me, help me!! You can send questions and whatever to my email because I always lose where I’m at when it comes to checking websites and such!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Diana Lis
My name is Diana Lis Somehow I misspelled my own name! Lolol!
Lois Britton
LOL, I’ve done the same!
Hanya
Made these, topped with tomato gravy and added lentils to the buckwheat/mushroom combo. Delicious! A fun departure from meat, yet still holds enough bite to satisfy the carnivores at the table. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Cindy
As we do not eat any daity, including eggs, what can I use insyead of the egg to bind or should I just eliminate it?
Lois Britton
Cindy, I would try your usual egg substitutions: ground flax seed and water or aquafaba.