History

Gołąbki (literally 'little pigeons') have been on Polish tables since at least the 16th century, drawn from the wider central European stuffed-cabbage tradition. The Polish version is distinguished by its tomato sauce in the dominant form (the mushroom-sauce variant is also traditional). The dish is one of two canonical Polish Sunday lunches alongside kotlet schabowy, and Warsaw's Bar Mleczny Prasowy plates the milk-bar version under 25 zl daily.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 1 hrTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 large head white cabbage
  • 500g minced pork (around 70% lean)
  • 200g minced beef
  • 200g long-grain rice, cooked al dente and cooled
  • 2 large onions, finely diced, half softened in butter and half raw
  • 30g butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • Salt and black pepper
  • For the sauce: 800g good crushed tomatoes, 2 tablespoons tomato concentrate, 1 onion finely diced, 30g butter, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper
  • Sour cream to serve

Method

  1. Core the cabbage. Lower into a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes; lift out and gently peel off the outer leaves. Return the cabbage and repeat until you have 16 to 20 large flexible leaves. Trim the thick central rib so they roll easily.
  2. Soften half the onion in 30g butter for 10 minutes; cool.
  3. Combine the minced pork, beef, cooked rice, softened onion, half the raw onion, eggs, marjoram, caraway, salt and pepper.
  4. Place a heaped 60g of filling on each cabbage leaf. Fold the sides in and roll tightly. Place seam-down in a heavy casserole.
  5. For the sauce: soften the remaining onion in butter, stir in the paprika off the heat, add crushed tomatoes, tomato concentrate, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes.
  6. Pour the sauce over the rolls, then add 300ml water to come halfway up the rolls.
  7. Cover and bake at 160C for 90 minutes, occasionally basting with the sauce.
  8. Serve 2 to 3 rolls per person with a generous spoon of sour cream.

Tip from the editors. Freeze the cabbage head whole 24 hours before; thaw and the leaves come away limp and pliable without the boiling step. The Warsaw home-cook shortcut.

Where to eat gołąbki

Gołąbki in Warsaw

Restauracja Polka ★ 4.2

Traditional Polish$$$stare-miasto

Magda Gessler's Polka in Warsaw is the Old Town home-cooking room: seven flower-painted dining rooms in a Renaissance tenement, heavy curtains.

Signature: Bigos, Hand-rolled pierogi, Placki ziemniaczane

Order: The bigos plate, hand-rolled pierogi, and a Polmos vodka shot.

Tip: Touristy but earns it; ask for the back room, not the streetside seats.

ul. Swietojanska 2, 00-288 Warszawa Book →

Gosciniec Polskie Pierogi ★ 4.0

Pierogarnia$$stare-miasto

Gosciniec Polskie Pierogi in Warsaw plays the modernised-pierogarnia card with four central locations: Podwale, Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Nowy Swiat and Piwna.

Signature: Pierogi ruskie, Pierogi z kapusta i grzybami, Pierogi z dzikiem

Order: The wild-boar pierogi and a half-litre of cherry-infused vodka.

Tip: The Podwale branch has the biggest dining room and the easiest weekday lunch booking.

ul. Podwale 19, 00-252 Warszawa

Stary Dom ★ 4.3

Tasting menuChef House team$$$$200-350 zlMon-Sun 12:00-23:30Book 1 week ahead

Stary Dom in Warsaw is the white-tablecloth Polish steak room of leafy Mokotow. Led by chef House team. Tasting menu 200-350 zl. Book 1 week ahead.

ul. Pulawska 104, 02-620 Warszawa

More cities are in research. Want gołąbki covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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