The Dutch Oven Makes the Difference
There’s something special about cooking a meal like this in a Dutch oven. Its generous capacity and excellent heat retention make it ideal for slow-simmered dishes, allowing the cabbage, tomatoes, beef and spices to come together into one deeply comforting bowl.
For this recipe, we recommend using a quality enameled Dutch oven. It moves effortlessly from stovetop to table, keeps the soup gently simmering and makes this kind of one-pot cooking beautifully simple.
Because sometimes, the best kitchen tools aren’t the ones you use for a single recipe — they’re the ones that make you want to cook more often.
Ready to make it? Let’s get started.
Polish-Inspired Golumpki Soup
Serves: 6
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 45–50 min
Total: ~1 hour
Ingredients
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ head green cabbage, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups beef broth
• ¾ cup uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Fresh parsley, to finish
Method
1. Brown the beef
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Break it into small pieces.
2. Build the base
Add onion and carrots. Cook for 4–5 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute.
3. Add the cabbage
Stir in the chopped cabbage and cook for 2–3 minutes, allowing it to soften slightly.
4. Simmer
Add crushed tomatoes, beef broth, rice, paprika, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and cover.
5. Cook slowly
Simmer for approximately 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and the cabbage is soft.
6. Finish
Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the apple cider vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Finish with fresh parsley.
The Muntero-style finishing touch
