As the years have gone by, I have often wondered where she first learned to make them.

She never had shelves full of cookbooks or any cookbooks that I ever saw. There were no cooking shows to watch and certainly no YouTube videos to follow or Facebook cooking groups to join. Like so many women of her generation, she learned by watching, recipes lived in her hands and head, not on paper.

Sometimes I wish I could wind back the clock and ask her.

Who first showed her how to blanch cabbage leaves until they became soft enough to roll? Where did she first taste them? Was it at a friend’s house, a wedding, or somewhere else entirely?

I will never know.

What I do know is that cabbage rolls are one of those dishes that seem to belong to everyone.

Romanians have Sarmale. In Poland they are called Gołąbki. Ukrainians make Holubtsi, Turks have Etli Lahana Sarması and throughout Lebanon and Syria you will find Malfouf Mahshi. Egypt has its own version called Mahshi Kromb.

Some are filled mostly with rice and herbs, others with beef, lamb or pork. Some are cooked in tomato sauce, others in lemon and garlic broth, while some are wrapped in fermented cabbage instead of fresh leaves.

Different names. Different spices. Different traditions. Yet they all begin with the same simple idea: wrapping something delicious inside a cabbage leaf.

Maybe that is how recipes travelled.  Long before the internet connected us, recipes were already crossing borders. They moved with families, neighbours, friends and travellers. Someone watched someone else cook, remembered what they had seen, and took the recipe home to their own kitchen.

This is the recipe I learned from my mother-in-law who made these with minced beef. I tend to make mine with minced chicken, but lamb works beautifully too. Use whichever you prefer. The only change I have made over the years is adding the garlicky tomato topping before the cabbage rolls begin to simmer. It cooks down into the tomatoes and gives the gravy a little more richness.

The rest I have left exactly as she made it.

I only wish I had thought to ask her where she first learned it.

Cabbage Rolls Around the World

Country	Name	What makes it different
Romania	Sarmale	Pork or beef with rice, slowly cooked in tomato sauce, often with smoked meat.
Poland	Gołąbki	Beef and pork with rice, often served with tomato sauce.
Ukraine	Holubtsi	Meat and rice, often served with tomato sauce and sour cream.
Turkey	Etli Lahana Sarması	Lamb or beef with rice and spices, cooked in tomato or broth.
Lebanon & Syria	Malfouf Mahshi	Beef and rice seasoned with warming spices and traditionally cooked with lemon and garlic.
Egypt	Mahshi Kromb	A rice forward filling with herbs, often simmered in a tomato based broth.
Hungary	Töltött Káposzta	Paprika seasoned filling, often cooked with sauerkraut and served with sour cream.

Kobi na Padeka

Serves: 6 to 8

Mise en Place

• Core the cabbage and blanch it until the leaves soften enough to peel away easily.
• Trim the thick centre rib from each leaf.
• Rinse the rice, or soak it for 30 minutes and drain.
• Finely dice the tomato and onion.
• Chop a generous handful of fresh cilantro.
• Have the ingredients for the tomato topping measured and ready.

Ingredients

For the Cabbage Rolls

• 1 large round green cabbage
• 500 g (1 lb) ground chicken, lean minced beef or lamb
• ¾ cup short grain rice, rinsed or soaked for 30 minutes
• 1 tablespoon ginger, garlic and green chilli paste
• ½ cup finely diced tomato
• ½ cup finely diced onion
• 1 generous handful chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste, optional
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric, optional
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, generously, about 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup water

For the Garlicky Tomato Topping

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon ginger, garlic and green chilli paste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove the core from the cabbage and carefully lower the cabbage into the boiling water. As the outer leaves soften, gently peel them away with tongs, returning the cabbage to the pot as needed. Continue until you have enough leaves for the filling.
   
   
2. Trim away the thick center rib from each leaf so it is easier to fold and roll.
   
   
3. In a large bowl, combine the minced meat, rice, ginger, garlic and green chilli paste, diced tomato, diced onion, cilantro, tomato paste if using, garam masala, turmeric if using, salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Mix until everything is evenly combined.
   
   
4. Lay a cabbage leaf flat on your work surface. Place a spoonful of filling near the base of the leaf.
   
   
5. Fold the sides over the filling, then roll it tightly into a neat parcel. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
   
   
6. Arrange the cabbage rolls seam side down in a heavy pot, packing them snugly together.
   
   
7. Scatter the chopped tomatoes over the cabbage rolls, then pour in 1 cup of water.
   
   
8. In a small bowl, stir together the oil, ginger, garlic and green chilli paste, tomato paste and black pepper to make a thick tomato topping. Spoon it evenly over the cabbage rolls.
   
   
9. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and simmer gently for about 1½ hours, or until the cabbage is tender and the rice and meat are completely cooked.
   
   
10. Carefully transfer the cabbage rolls to a serving platter and spoon the tomato gravy from the pot over the top.
    
    
    
    Serving Suggestions: Serve hot with crusty bread, mashed potatoes or plain rice, with plenty of the tomato gravy spooned over the top.
    
    
    Watch me make it:
    

Notes from my Kitchen:

Use a large round green cabbage for this recipe. It is what we have always used and, for me, it is tried and tested and gives the best results.

When I photographed this batch, I decided to use a large flat cabbage instead. The leaves were beautifully broad, but I found them much thinner and more delicate. They tore easily as I worked with them, and rolling the parcels was far more fiddly than usual. Next time, I am going straight back to my trusty round green cabbage.

Do not worry if a few leaves tear. You can overlap two smaller leaves to make one wrapper, and any torn pieces can be tucked underneath the rolls in the pot.

If you have any filling left over, roll it into little meatballs and nestle them between the cabbage rolls before cooking. They cook right alongside everything else and soak up the tomato gravy.

Make It Your Way

One of the lovely things about cabbage rolls is how easily they adapt. If you prefer a vegetarian or vegan version, simply leave out the meat and keep everything else much the same.

For a hearty filling, try sautéing finely chopped mushrooms, shredded carrots, diced bell peppers, peas and onions before adding them to the rice. Cooked brown lentils, mashed white beans, kidney beans or chickpeas also work well, and chopped walnuts add a little more texture.

I would keep the same ginger, garlic and green chilli paste, garam masala, cilantro and plenty of black pepper. Those are the flavors that make these cabbage rolls taste like the ones I make.

Does Your Family Make Cabbage Rolls?

I would love to know what you call them and how your family makes them. Is your version cooked in tomato, broth, lemon and garlic, or something completely different? Leave me a comment below. I would love to hear about it.