i’m not a huge fan of ‘golubtsi’, but it is a special and even fancy dinner in the old country. although never saw potatoes inside. i’ll just eat the stuffing, discard the mushy cabbage. its job is to make things moist. no cheese. wtf would it even do in there? tomato based sauce on top. can be made spicy.
I ended up going with a corned beef and mashed potato cabbage roll with a horseradish-parsley sauce. I think my ratio of potatoes to beef was bad and the whole thing felt under-seasoned, but I feel the concept is viable and I could perfect it if I wanted to. Going with mashed rather than cubed potatoes worked for the roll to keep its shape more. Since I had cooked corned beef rather than raw ground meat, I didn’t go with the 60-90 minute bake time that I saw in various cabbage roll recipes, but maybe I should have.
I take extra firm tofu, squeeze out the water, cut into one inch cubes, lightly coat them with oil, then cover them with a mix of cornstarch and spices, place on a baking tray with parchment paper, bake at 400 for 35 minutes flipping them half way through. They end up pretty crispy and tasty with softness in the middle, but I’m always looking to upgrade my technique.