Cabbage Rolls (GOŁĄBKI)

Prepare the sauce. Put the sauce ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat. Cook for about 30 minutes, then set aside.

Prepare your potatoes so they are ready to boil and set them on the counter out of your way.

Cook rice following the directions on the package, but shorten the cooking time by half. Drain if needed.

Wash cabbage and cut out the core. Set aside any dark green outer leaves.

Place cabbages, a couple at a time, in a large pot and fill with water. Rotate the cabbages a bit to try to heat as evenly as you can.

Heat the water on medium high heat. As the leaves start loosening away from the head, pull them away. Simmer until the leaves are wilted and floppy, then remove from water to a plate. As you get farther into the center, you may have to do more coaxing with your tongs to get them off.

When you get to a point where the cabbage is too small to bother with and you have a nice stack of leaves, pull the cabbage out and set aside to cool off. Save it for another dish.

Place the ground meat in a large mixing bowl, add cooked rice, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Mix until combined. Cook a small amount to test the taste and adjust if needed.

Heat your oven to 350 F.

Place dark green and torn leaves on the bottom and up the sides of your baking dish to cover. You may need to cut out the stems or tear them to get them to lay the way you want.

Lay out the other leaves and with a paring knife, slice off a portion of the thick stem part of the leaf to thin it.

Start with the nicest leaves, then use any that are minimally torn. Place filling on the curve of each leaf.

Fold the bottom over the meat, fold in the sides, then roll up from the bottom.

Trim off any stem pieces poking out.

Place rolls in the baking dish, cramming a little, and add sauce until the rolls are mostly covered.

Cover the whole dish with 2 layers of leaves; you want to make sure it is well insulated. Save any leaves that are left for another dish.

Bake at 350F for 2 hours.

Remove the bay leaves from your sauce.

Cook any leftover filling in a fry pan on medium heat until browned and add it to your sauce.

Move your potatoes to the stove and turn the heat to low (you'll crank it to high once the cabbage rolls are ready).

Move some of the cover leaves and check tenderness by poking one of the rolls with a fork. If you meet too much resistance, recover and return them to the oven.

When the cabbage rolls are soft when pierced by a fork, return them to the oven to finish up, about 30 minutes. Turn the heat up under your potatoes. Make the mashed potatoes.

Return the sauce to the heat and melt in the butter. Stir in the cream. Adjust the flavor if needed.

Uncover the rolls and discard these leaves.

Serve each plate with some mashed potatoes. Lift two or three rolls out of your baking dish with tongs or a slotted spoon and put it on the potatoes. Ladle sauce from your saucepan over.