Buckwheat and Mushroom Cabbage Rolls

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-19Admit it, if you are Slavic, sometimes you get cravings for food that many other people would call wierd. Think of Seleyodka (pickled herring), Holodets, Salo, Borsch and many others. I’m sure you’ve gotten some strange looks when you open up your lunch box at work once in a while. Even though cabbage rolls are a bit more popular than the foods that I just named, many people turn up their noses at the mere mention of cabbage.

I had one of these cravings the other day, specifically for Golubtsi (cabbage rolls). I am also trying to cook foods that are great as leftovers, since we are spending so much time remodeling our new place, and days when I don’t have to cook are appreciated more than ever. This time, I decided to use buckwheat instead of rice in the meat filling and also added mushrooms to the filling as well as the sauce. Oh, wow! Let me tell you, the buckwheat adds such a nutty flavor to the filling and mushrooms make everything taste better anyway, so the combination was a big hit.

I was so sure that my 5 year old would never eat the cabbage rolls, so before we sat down to dinner, I made him a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. As I was mentally patting myself on the back for being such a thoughtful and cool Mom, I noticed a rambunctious boy at my elbow, eyeing the cabbage rolls. He was very perplexed that I was only serving it to myself and my husband, and not placing any on his plate.

“Me want some too, Mom”, he adamantly told me. I was shocked. I doubtfully placed a cabbage roll on his plate.

He just doesn’t know what it is, I told myself, as soon as he takes a bite, he will move the plate away. Oh, well. The Grilled Cheese Sandwich is ready and waiting. 

Imagine my surprise when he devoured the whole cabbage roll and told me with lots of nodding and smacking noises that it was “very good”. 

Ingredients:

Cabbage rolls:

1 medium savoy cabbage

1 lb ground pork (you can also use ground beef, turkey or chicken)

1/2 Tablespoon butter or oil

1 onion, minced

1 carrot, finely shredded

1/4 cup dry chanterelle mushrooms, rehydrated and minced

4 oz. fresh button mushrooms (or any other fresh mushrooms), chopped

1/2 cup raw roasted buckwheat

salt

ground black pepper

Sauce:

1/2 Tablespoon oil

1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes

1 onion, chopped

1 small carrot, shredded

1 celery stalk, minced

4 – 6 oz fresh button mushrooms, chopped

1 -2 garlic cloves, minced 

salt, pepper

Garnish:

fresh dill, parsley

sour cream

Instructions:

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut out the core from the cabbage head and submerge the cabbage in the water. Cook in the boiling water until the cabbage leaves have softened, 5 minutes or some. Remove the cabbage from the water and set aside until it is cool enough to handle. Save the water that it was cooking in, since you will use a bit of it later.

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-2Cook the buckwheat until it’s just slightly underdone.

Rehydrate the dry mushrooms in some boiling water, set them aside for about 10 minutes, drain and then mince. Chop the button mushrooms.

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-3In a skillet, heat the butter or oil and add the onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-4Cook, covered, for about 8 more minutes, until all the ingredients have softened and the mushrooms have turned a golden brown. Cool slightly.

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-5Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, mushrooms and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-6Add the carrots and celery, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-7Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 5-10 minutes. You can also add any kind of dry or fresh herbs.

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-10Mix the ground meat, cooked buckwheat and the sautéed mushroom mixture. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper and again mix to combine. Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-8

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-9Separate the cabbage leaves from the head and cut off the hard rib on each leaf with a paring knife and discard. Place about 1/4 cup of the meat and mushroom filling into the bottom center of each cabbage leaf, fold the side edges of the cabbage over the filling and roll it up over the filling to form a cabbage roll. Repeat with the rest of the cabbage leaves and the filling.

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-11Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cover the bottom of a 13×9 inch deep baking dish with sauce. Nestle the cabbage leaves on top of the sauce and cover them with more sauce on top. Pour about 1/3 – 1/2 cup of the remaining cabbage water on top of the cabbage rolls. Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-12

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-13Bake in the preheated oven, covered, for about 45 minutes. Serve with fresh herbs and a dollop of sour cream.

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-19

Mushroom and Buckwheat Cabbage Rolls-1-18

Buckwheat and Mushroom Cabbage Rolls
 
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Author:
Serves: 15 cabbage rolls
Ingredients
Cabbage rolls:
  • 1 medium savoy cabbage
  • 1 lb ground pork (you can also use ground beef, turkey or chicken)
  • ½ Tablespoon butter or oil
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 1 carrot, finely shredded
  • ¼ cup dry chanterelle mushrooms, rehydrated and minced
  • 4 oz. fresh button mushrooms (or any other fresh mushrooms), chopped
  • ½ cup raw roasted buckwheat
  • salt
  • ground black pepper
Sauce:
  • ½ Tablespoon oil
  • 1 large can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 small carrot, shredded
  • 1 celery stalk, minced
  • 4 - 6 oz fresh button mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 -2 garlic cloves, minced
  • salt, pepper
Garnish:
  • fresh dill, parsley
  • sour cream
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cut out the core from the cabbage head and submerge the cabbage in the water. Cook in the boiling water until the cabbage leaves have softened, 5 minutes or some. Remove the cabbage from the water and set aside until it is cool enough to handle. Save the water that it was cooking in, since you will use a bit of it later.
  2. Cook the buckwheat until it's just slightly underdone.
  3. Rehydrate the dry mushrooms in some boiling water, set them aside for about 10 minutes, drain and then mince. Chop the button mushrooms.
  4. In a skillet, heat the butter or oil and add the onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, for about 8 more minutes, until all the ingredients have softened and the mushrooms have turned a golden brown. Cool slightly.
  5. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce.
  6. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, mushrooms and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Add the carrots and celery, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 5-10 minutes. You can also add any kind of dry or fresh herbs.
  7. Mix the ground meat, cooked buckwheat and the sautéed mushroom mixture. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper and again mix to combine. Separate the cabbage leaves from the head and cut off the hard rib on each leaf with a paring knife and discard. Place about ¼ cup of the meat and mushroom filling into the bottom center of each cabbage leaf, fold the side edges of the cabbage over the filling and roll it up over the filling to form a cabbage roll. Repeat with the rest of the cabbage leaves and the filling.
  8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  9. Cover the bottom of a 13x9 inch deep baking dish with sauce. Nestle the cabbage leaves on top of the sauce and cover them with more sauce on top. Pour about ⅓ - ½ cup of the remaining cabbage water on top of the cabbage rolls. Bake in the preheated oven, covered, for about 45 minutes. Serve with fresh herbs and a dollop of sour cream.

25 Comments

  • Alina

    I have been dreaming of making golubtsi and this is just the perfect recipe! Thank you so much, can’t wait to make it!

  • Tanya

    Olya,
    Thank you so much for sharing your success with us!!! You have an amazing talent to convert scraps into new meals!!! You go girl!!! Looking forward to every post! Also, neat story about your little one, starting 4 year’s of age, they become so picky!!! At times I am left in tears because after slaving away in the kitchen for hours, all my 5 year old child will want is a cereal or ice cream. Really?!!! I so hope that my child will start eating and enjoy proper food and that it happens soon. 🙂 Keep up the good work Olya!!!!

  • Tanya

    Thank you sweetheart for wonderful recepie!!! It sounds very good!!! Thanx for sharing it with us!!! God bless!!! By the wY love to read all ur stories!!!:)

  • alena

    My husband took борщ to work one time and his coworker was looking at this red soup. So then my husband added some sour cream and the guy was like ” it looked edible until u made it pink.” My husband told him that sour cream was optional. 🙂

  • Inna S

    Hello Olga, I love your blog, you’re doing a great job. Keep at it! I was wondering if you have made any “golubtsi” with grape leaves instead of cabbage?

    • olgak7

      Thank you so much, Inna. It means so much for me to hear you say so.
      I don’t have a recipe for stuffed grape leaves, although my Mom used to make them. I’ll have to get her recipe.

  • May

    Just got a big ole cabbage for making Holubtsi for next weekend! I’ll have to try the buckwheat-mushroom combination!

  • Nadia

    When these rolls are done baking, should the cabbage leaves become soft or still be kind of crunchy? I made these tonight and they taste very good but the cabbage leaves didn’t become soft. I put the dish back in the oven for another 20 min and they still didn’t soften. I did have more tomato sauce than you have on the picture. Could that be the problem? I am thinking that maybe the tomato sauce was the reason why cabbage remained crunchy.

    • olgak7

      It depends on your cabbage, Nadia. I don’t think the sauce should make a difference either way. Sometimes the cabbage that you buy is much harder than others and no matter how long you cook it, it can’t seem to soften.

  • Jessica

    I just made these tonight and they were delicious! I just used mushrooms to make them vegetarian, but they were still a hit with my half Russian/half American dinner group in Moscow 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe!

  • Christine

    Olga!
    I’m making your stroganoff meatballs this morning and I just saw this on your recipe search.
    I love galumpkis! I cant wait to try your version with the buckwheat. I need to but this buckwheat and try it out.
    Thank you for all the delicious recipes!
    Christine

  • Lena

    Wow, Olga!!! This is an amazing recipe! I’ve always felt intimidated to make those cabbage rolls. This recipe looks so simple and delicious.

  • Loreen

    A tip to the cook who asked about the tough cabbage: my Babka always FROZE the leaves after they were steamed and separated. This is partly because she could prepare the cabbage ahead of time and always have the leaves ready to go to make holuptsi (which she made weekly, at least in my memories!) However, freezing the scalded leaves also softened them up and made them easier to roll. You can thaw them really quickly in the microwave.

  • Halee Andrushchenko

    Thanks for this recipe, Olga. My husband is Russian and introduced me to golubtsi when I was in Moscow a couple of years ago and loved them. We will be using this recipe for years to come!

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