Antoni Porowski’s Golumpki (Polish Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

On this week’s episode of Your Mama’s Kitchen, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Antoni Porowski — someone who’s not just a food expert, but a deeply thoughtful and beautifully self-aware human being.

A bestselling author, a chef, and an actor, Antoni is best known as one of the stars (a.k.a. the “Fab Five”) of the Queer Eye revival series on Netflix. He is the food and wine expert, tasked with helping the subject of each episode reinvent themselves in the culinary arena. He is also the host of “No Taste Like Home”, a National Geographic series where celebrity guests join him to discuss and explore the tastes that remind them of their home and heritage. Now, he joins us on Your Mama’s Kitchen to do the same!

In this episode, we talked about everything from Eastern-European childhoods and comfort food to masculinity, anxiety, and the art of staying soft in a world that asks and often requires us to harden ourselves.

Antoni’s vulnerability and sense of ritual are a reminder that strength can be quiet, nourishing, and deeply personal. 🧡

Listen, and as always, let us know whatcha think!

Ingredients

Recipe by Greg Lofts

Makes: 18 to 22 stuffed cabbage rolls

Ingredients

2 heads green or Savoy cabbage, preferably with outer leaves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

SAUCE

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow onion (from 1 large)

2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

FILLING

½ cup chopped yellow onion (from 1 small)

½ cup uncooked Jasmine rice

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

1 pound 85% lean ground beef

1 pound ground pork

2 large eggs

½ cup plain panko breadcrumbs

Sour cream and chopped fresh parsley (optional), for serving

STEP 1

Bring a large pot filled halfway with water to a boil; season with a generous pinch of salt. Remove dark green outer leaves from cabbages and reserve. Using the tip of a sharp knife, carefully cut notches around the base of the cabbages to remove the cores. Boil outer leaves until vibrant green and pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a platter or board to cool. Gently lower one cabbage, cored side down, into boiling water. Pull outer leaves from the cabbage as they turn soft and pliable and release easily from the head; transfer to platter. Continue removing leaves until you reach inner leaves too small to stuff and roll. Repeat process with second cabbage (you should have 18 to 22 leaves in total for stuffing, plus dark green outer leaves, if using, to line the pot).

STEP 2

SAUCE: Heat oil in a large pan over medium. When oil shimmers, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes. Swirl ¾ cup water around bottom and sides of each tomato tin to release any remaining pulp and juices, then pour into pan. Stir in vinegar and brown sugar; season with 2 teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Transfer 1 cup sauce to a large bowl, and cover pan to keep remaining sauce warm.

STEP 3

FILLING: To the bowl of reserved sauce, stir in the onion, rice, thyme, paprika, and caraway seeds; season with 1½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper. Add the beef, pork, eggs, and breadcrumbs and gently incorporate with your hands to thoroughly combine (gently folding the meat mixture into the filling will ensure more tender rolls).

STEP 4

Preheat oven to 350˚. Line the bottom and sides of a 6-to-7-quart Dutch oven or pot (with a tight-fitting lid) with the dark green outer cabbage leaves, if desired (it’s okay if the leaves overhang the edges of the pot). Cut notches at the base of the remaining leaves to remove the thick, tough center ribs. With the base of a leaf nearest you, spoon a scant 1/3 cup filling into center of leaf. Fold bottom and sides over filling and roll into a tight log. Repeat process with remaining leaves and filling. Pour 2 cups sauce over cabbage leaves lining the bottom of the Dutch oven (or directly into the pot if not using outer leaves). Nestle 6 to 7 cabbage rolls into the pot, seam side down, in a single layer. Pour 2 more cups sauce over rolls. Repeat layering rolls and sauce twice more, pouring remaining sauce over the top to fully submerge rolls (if rolls are not fully submerged, add enough hot water to the pot to cover). If any outer leaves overhang the pot, fold them in over the rolls. Cover pot and transfer to a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (to catch any drips, for easy cleanup).

STEP 5

Bake until the cabbage rolls are cooked and the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, 1½ to 2 hours. To serve, spoon sauce over cabbage rolls and garnish with sour cream and parsley, if desired.

Michele’s Kitchen Notes
Work ahead if you can! Cook’s Notes: The cabbage rolls can be baked up to two days ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat, covered, in a 350˚ oven until hot, about 30 minutes, or in the microwave.

And if you are better with a video tutorial, here is a link to Antoni’s show, No Taste Like Home, where he prepares this dish for us!