Vegan Golumpki-Style Stuffed Cabbage Fried Rice
A delicious plant-based meal inspired by my babcia’s golumpki, but simplified to come together in less than 30 minutes
I was too young to remember the first time I ate golumpki but I know it was my babcia’s recipe. She made it often, then passed that habit down to my mom. Who, in turn, has passed it down to me. Golumpki is stuffed cabbage. Specifically, Polish stuffed cabbage filled with rice and dill, then slathered in a velvety tomato sauce. There’s something magical about the combination. I can remember, when I was a kid, eating it hot and fresh from the oven and then loving it just as much the next day, cold, right out of the fridge.
Golumpki is traditionally made with ground pork or beef but removing the meat from the recipe leaves nothing to be desired. Although some Polish restaurants offer a meatless golumpki, I prefer to make my own and I wanted to create a version that’s approachable to someone who’s never stuffed a cabbage.
Traditional golumpki is definitely a project, but I’m not opposed to that. Taking hours to steam, stuff, and bake cabbage sounds like the perfect Sunday to me, but rolling rice into fragile steamed cabbage leaves may not be everyone’s idea of a good time.
