Golabki

Golabki are blanched white cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of minced pork and beef with rice or barley and onion, packed into a pot and stewed slowly, then served in a tomato sauce or, in the eastern and mountain versions, a mushroom or sour cream one. The name means little pigeons, and the usual explanation is the shape, though the derivation is not settled. They are a staple of family cooking, of milk bars and of the food served at weddings and after funerals, and they are one of the dishes people cook in large batches because they improve on the second day. Regional versions differ: buckwheat instead of rice in the east, meatless versions with mushrooms and grain in the Wigilia repertoire, and smaller ones wrapped in savoy or in vine leaves in some households. The same dish, under other names, runs across Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

What you actually see

• Cabbage rolled around filling - minced meat with rice or barley and onion.
• Slow stewing - packed into a pot and cooked down for a long time.
• Tomato or mushroom sauce - the two standard finishes, by region.
• Better the next day - which is why they are cooked in large batches.

When to go

All year. An hour.

Honest expectations

Quality depends entirely on the cook - poor versions are watery and underseasoned. Portions are heavy. Milk bars serve them cheaply but early, and close in the afternoon.

Nearby

Milk bars in any Polish city are the cheapest place to try them.