On The Road - Golumpki Soup

Arriving home, Sister asked "Where'd y'eat?". "Flap Jack Shack, 3 times", my reply, as it is my Dad's regular haunt. "Did you have the soup?", and I immediately knew she meant Golumpki soup, which her Grandpa had turned her onto last year. While yesterday was a warm 88 degrees, today the skies are crying (to my vegetable garden's delight) and it seems like an appropriate day for soup, so I'm going out to get the ingredients to make it for her tonight.

Well, there is not much on the internet about Golumpki soup, but in my Polish Cookery Book (by Marja Ochorowicz-Monatowa), there is a Stuffed Cabbage Roll recipe called "Golqbki de Slodkiej", Bingo! Also called Golabki, it is a Polish dish of cabbage stuffed with ground beef, chopped onions, rice and tomatoes. So I'm marrying various recipes together to create something new, going to vet it by my personal chef first, of course.

GOLUMPKI SOUP
1 qt. beef stock
1 qt. water
1 TBL. olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
3 strips bacon, chopped
2 TBL. butter
2 c. chopped fresh cabbage
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 c. cooked rice
Salt and pepper

In frying pan, cook bacon until crisp, reserving 1 TBL. bacon fat. Clean pan and brown beef in reserved bacon fat, drain and set aside. In large pot, melt butter and saute cabbage, onion and garlic. When softened, add stock, water, beef, bacon, tomatoes, and rice. Let simmer 45 minutes and season to taste.