Töltött Káposzta

The story

Every Hungarian family has its own version of töltött káposzta, soured cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice and simmered slowly with sauerkraut, paprika, and smoked pork. Some lay smoked bacon in the bottom of the pot, others insist on smoked sausage tucked among the rolls, and still others on sour cream as the finishing touch. The dish belongs to a wider Central European family of stuffed cabbage leaves that also includes Croatian sarma, Polish gołąbki, and Serbian sarma, each with its own local seasonings and proportions. In Hungary it is often cooked days ahead because, as with sarma, the flavors meld and deepen over time; many grandmothers maintain that it is at its best on the third day. It is served with sour cream and fresh bread for soaking up the sauce. It is a fixture of the Hungarian Christmas table on December 25 and 26 and again at New Year, though it is eaten all through the winter. For Hungarian Americans, this is one of the dishes that immediately ties their cooking to the broader Central European tradition of the neighboring countries, national differences in the recipe notwithstanding.