Gołąbki - Polish cabbage rolls

Polish food is one of the most famous foods in the Western world. Along with Pierogi - Polish dumplings, Gołąbki - Polish cabbage rolls are a favourite not just with people of Polish origin but with anyone that has the honour of biting into these tasty traditional dishes. Once eaten, you will come back for more, guaranteed. These cabbage rolls are well worth boiling and separating the cabbage leaves (the tricky bit). I can vouch that once cooked these cabbage rolls are addictive. I used a mixture of minced beef and pork and the result was some really delicious, tasty and juicy cabbage rolls. If you find it you can also add some minced veal as well. The accompanying tomato sauce gives it the Eastern European taste, the tanginess of the tomato sauce, the sweetness of the caraway seeds, the herbiness of the marjoram and parsley...oh, heaven! Give them a go, you will not be disappointed. You will need...

For the Gołąbki - cabbage rolls

• 1 large cabbage head
• 750g minced beef & pork
• 1 large carrot, grated
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cooked rice, cold
• 250ml (1 cup) tomato passata + ½ cup tomato passata
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• A knob of butter, for frying

For the tomato sauce

• 300ml (1 ½ cups) beef stock
• 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
• 175ml (¾ cup) tomato passata
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 30g butter
• 30g plain flour

How to...

1. Start by boiling a very large pot of salty water. Now put the cabbage core end up and using a paring knife remove the hard core. Put the cabbage in the boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes. At this point some of the leaves will start to come off, that is what we want. After 10 minutes, carefully take the cabbage out of the boiling water, be very very careful as it will be very hot. Use 2 large spatulas or ladles when doing this process. Leave to cool slightly. When slightly cool, start peeling off the cabbage leaves with extreme care (remember they are the star ingredient of the dish). Separate them and put them flat on a platter and set aside to cool further.
2. Now it is time to prepare the filling. Start by frying the onions and garlic in the butter until brown (about 5 minutes on medium heat). Set aside to cool. In a large bowl add the minced meat, cooked rice, grated carrot, passata, eggs, cold fried onion/garlic mixture and salt & pepper. Put a pair of gloves on (optional) and mix by hand until all ingredients are incorporated, do not mix too much or else the meat will toughen. 
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
4. Now here comes the fun part, firstly if the spine of the leaf is too tough carefully trim it with a sharp knife). Now spread the cabbage leaves end bit away from you, put some filling (about a tablespoon or more...this depends on the size of the leaf), now roll the sides first and roll up all the way up to the stalk/spine part. Stack them up into a casserole next to each other (see picture).
   
   Keep going until all the filling is used up. If you have spare leaves or torn leaves save them so you can cover the rolls in the end. 
5. Now fill the casserole with water half way up to the rolls and add the half cup of passata. Spread the torn/spare leaves on top, cover and put into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
6. Whilst they are cooking away, start the tomato sauce by melting 30g butter, add the flour and cook stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes. Add all the other sauce ingredients and stir until thickened, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, make sure you keep on stirring or it will stick to the bottom of the pot. Turn off the heat and remove from the heat.
7. After 30 minutes take the cabbage rolls out of the oven and pour the tomato sauce on top, cover again and put in the oven for another 30 minutes.
   
8. Take out of the oven, let stand for about 10 minutes and serve hot with a couple of spoonfuls of tomato sauce on top. Gołąbki can also be enjoyed cold as appetizers...an absolute delight!!
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Zorza Gallega - Marinated Diced Pork Loin Galician Style

Zorza is a very famous dish in the Northwest Spanish region of Galicia. Basically, it is similar to the meat mixture used in the production of chorizo. One of the differences is that for Zorza the meat is chopped in coarser pieces. The impressively delicious taste of this pork dish comes from the long marination period. It is usually left to marinade for 24 hours in the fridge. The ingredients are quite basic but I did use proper Spanish pimentón (paprika) which gives the dish its distinctive red colour and above all a delicious flavour. If not available you can use normal paprika but make sure it is fresh as 'old' paprika tends to lose its flavour. Worth mentioning also the fact that Zorza is traditionally served with deep fried diced potatoes and fried eggs. One thing is for sure that your family and friends will love it no matter how it is served. We recently prepared a lot of it and we took it to a Spanish fiesta and our friends (Spanish and not) loved it and the Zorza was the first of the tapas to disappear from our table!! So do give this a go. The amounts below are for 6 people (if served as a meal) or 10 people or more if served as a range of tapas!!

• 1 kg pork loin, chopped into small dice (about 0.5 cm cubes)
• 3 tbsp sweet pimentón (paprika)
• 1/2 tbsp hot pimentón (paprika)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• A large zip-lock bag

TWO TIPS: 

1. Make sure the meat is cut in equal pieces so as it cooks evenly.
2. If using 1 kg of meat cook it in two batches.

How to...

1. Put the meat and all the remaining ingredients in a large zip-lock bag, partially close and let all the air out. Now close the bag entirely and start mixing the meat and the ingredients by gently massaging the back. Keep doing this for about 10 minutes until the meat turns red and all the other ingredients are mixed in.
2. Put in the fridge and leave to marinade for 24 hours.
3. When it's time to cook your Zorza, heat up a wok or a  shallow pan on high heat and carefully start stir-frying the Zorza quickly, make sure your stir continuously to avoid it from sticking to the pan. Zorza takes less than 10 minutes to cook.
4. Serve warm with deep fried potatoes (cut the same size of the meat) and a fried egg per person. You can also put in a bowl for everyone to help yourself when you do your Spanish fiesta. Tapas are awesome!!!

Enjoy!!

R&A

Pork & Fennel Sausages

These sausages are inspired by the great Antonio Carluccio. When we tried them, they were so delicious. Try to find the best minced pork you can get your hands on and also use a good red wine. We used a good red Chianti. Italian sausages...Italian wine :) The secret in getting good sausages is to mix the meaty mixture for a long time by hand!!! This makes sure that all the ingredients are infused into the meat. As with all sausages you can grill them, BBQ them, fry them...whatever you desire. When they were done I dipped them in some pre-made Caponata but if you cannot find it a good red bell pepper sauce like Ajvar will do just fine or ketchup or whatever you fancy!! To prepare about 12 sausages you will need...

• 1kg minced pork
• 1 red chilli, de-seeded & chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• 120ml red wine (We used Chianti)
• 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

How to...

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and mix them well by hand. 
2. Shape them up into 12 equally sized sausages.
3. Heat a pan with some olive oil and fry them until done from both sized, about 10 minutes or until cooked through. You can also grill them.
4. Serve them with any sauce you like.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Ragù al Cioccolato Amaro - Pork Ragù with Dark Chocolate

Oh dear...what an explosion on your taste buds this pasta sauce is!! The secret of every ragù is to simmer it on a low heat for a long period of time, but this only takes an hour. I mean only because a proper ragù can take more than 3 hours. It is also very important that you use good quality dark bitter chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids (I used Lindt 90% Dark Chocolate) because if you use any sweet/milk chocolate, it will ruin the sauce. So if you feel adventurous, as I always am give this a go, You will need...

• 300g pork mince
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste/puree
• 15g dark chocolate [minimum 70% cocoa solids]
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 200ml good red wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Pinch ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 200ml boiling water
• Sea salt & ground black pepper
• Grated parmesan, to serve [optional]

How to...

1. Fry the onion in the olive oil until soft and transparent. Add the minced pork and cook for about 15 minutes.
2. Add the wine, bit by bit, evaporating it all in the process. When all the wine is used, water down the tomato paste in the boiling water and add it to the meat & onion mixture. Add the sugar, cinnamon, chocolate and season with salt & pepper. Give it a good stir and cover the pan and simmer on a very low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally. If needed add some boiling water to the sauce.
3. When the ragù is done, turn off the heat and add the chocolate, sugar and cinnamon.
4. Serve the ragù on the pasta or, alternatively mix the ragù with the pasta. Sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Enjoy!!

R&A